The Chosen One
by ruthless527
Summary: This is the sequel to Change of Scenery. Rose is now known as the Chosen One according to a prophecy. She and the gang are on the hunt looking for Strigoi Adrian to put his soul back into his body. Let the journey of love, laughter and danger begin.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Vampire Academy, I just wish I did.**

**Summary**

**Rose POV**

Ahh, it feels good to finally put my feet up and relax. I need to enjoy it while I can because with the journey I'm on, I won't be doing much of it, I'm sure. I look over and see the man I gave my heart to, sitting in the next airplane seat, reading his western novel. Dimitri. He is everything I ever wanted. He is gorgeous, smart, strong, sensitive and loves me with all his heart. He is also my finance. I can't wait to marry my Russian God and make him my husband. But he isn't the only man I love. There is also Adrian. That relationship is a lot more complicated.

I met Adrian at the Ski Lodge the academy went to after a Strigoi attack scared the crap out of the Moroi community around Christmas time. He was there too and as soon as we met, he wouldn't leave me alone trying to get me into bed, sending me gifts and always showing up at the wrong time to harrass me. He came back to the academy with us to study Spirit with Lissa, with the bonus of trying to woo me. Adrian has a reputation for drinking and sleeping around with anything female. There was no way I was going to be another notch on his belt, I have more respect for myself than that. Plus I was totally in love with my mentor, Dimitri. I didn't find out his true feelings for me until a friend of mine who is empathic, told me he could feel that Adrian did in fact love me. Weird huh? Adrian and I got closer but I never felt more than friendship for him. We agreed to be best friends, until an evil Strigoi named Ezekiel decided to intrude in on our lives. He believed that I fulfilled some prophecy and that I am the Chosen One, greatest Strigoi hunter ever. He kidnapped Adrian to get to me. It almost worked too, but Adrian sacrificed himself to save me. Before he did that, though, I let him drink from me to give him strength. Doing that strengthened any love we had for each other. As it turns out, I did love Adrian, just not as much as Dimitri. But, back to his sacrificing himself. After Ezekiel drank from him, I held Adrian in my arms while he was dying and kissed him goodbye. When I did that, Adrian sent Spirit through to me and his soul came with it. Now he exists in my body. After Dimitri dragged me out of the house, leaving Adrian's body behind, Ezekiel turned him into a Strigoi. So now, me and my friends are searching the globe to find him so that we can heal him and send his soul back into his body. Sounds like a piece of cake, right? Nope. I already failed once. But, I won't stop until I get it right.

The Queen herself assigned me to this task since Adrian is her favorite nephew. I got to pick my team to go with me on my hunt for Strigoi Adrian. Of course Dimitri, especially since he was assigned to be my/Adrian's guardian. Unusual I know, but he always said he could never put any Moroi before me, and now he doesn't have to. Then there is my best friend Lissa. I was supposed to be her sanctioned guardian after graduation, but since I am leading this team, I have no official charge. Since we have a bond, though, I still look after her like I always have. Her guardian is Eddie Castile. We grew up together at the academy and he is like a brother to me. If I couldn't be her guardian, I feel better that he is. Then there is Christian Ozera, Lissa's boyfriend and fire using Moroi. He was there at the attack at the academy and used his fire magic to help the guardians take down the Strigoi. He even got a medal from the Queen for his efforts. His guardian is Rose Ann Popov, my newly found big sister. That story is even stranger. Let's just say a psychotic exboyfriend of hers thought I was her and harrassed and then kidnapped me. He's locked away now but Rose Ann decided to stay so we could get to know each other better. We look a lot alike, same hair and eyes but our body shapes are different. She is taller and more slender while I got my mom's curves and large chest. I haven't told my mom about finding my sister yet. She was already pretty pissed at me for getting engaged to my older mentor. I didn't want to kill her with this extra news.

Anywho, My sister Rose Ann is kinda dating my ex-boyfriend Alex Black. He helped me put my heart back together after Dimitri left me to be Tasha's guardian. He came back after he figured out he couldn't live without me. Tasha is Christians aunt and a sore subject for me. Let's not go there right now. Alex has been like a guardian angel to me. He rescued me from drowning in the ocean, protected me from Guardian Bloom, the psycopathic stalker, and helped me know love again. He seems to have a bit of a gift. From time to time, he gets visions. He had some visions before I transfered to his school. He saw me coming, but now we think that he also saw Rose Ann coming too, but we look so much alike, he didn't see the difference. The latest vision he had was a couple days ago. He dreamed that I was fighting Ezekiel back at the California academy. So that is where we are headed.

Alex is the guardian to Jacob Zeklos. What can I say about Jacob? He is the most annoying person I have ever met in my life. He seems to live to irritate me. At least he has stopped the sexual harrassment after Dimitri had a little chat with him. But that doesn't seem to stop him from flirting with every other girl on the planet. The reason he is even going with us is because no matter how much he rubs me the wrong way, he is a pretty good fire user. He also helped in the academy attack.

Also on the team is Peter Badica and his gardian Katie Newcomb. I met them both at the academy in CA. He is a Spirit user like Lissa and Adrian. He can feel everyones emotions. If it wasn't for him, Dimitri and I might not have gotten back together. He is shy, especially around girls, but me and the other ladies are doing what we can to bring him out of his shell. I don't know Katie very well, but she is pretty good at fighting and we all get along with her. And last but not least is Mia Rinaldi. We didn't start off as friends, but after the incident in Spokane where she helped me kill the Strigoi that captured us, we have become a lot closer. She is even training with guardians on fighting. Even though she is Moroi, she doesn't have a guardian, she refused to have one. She is a water user and works with the others to find more ways to fight with water.

Overall, I think I have a pretty good team. And the fact that they are all my friends, makes it even better.

**Well I hope this story goes as well as Change of Scenery. I know this first chapter is a little boring but it will get better. If you have any ideas for what the characters can go through, review and let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. What wonderful response to this story already. I hope you like this chapter and that this story doesn't dissapoint. Enjoy.**

**Dialogue in italics is either Adrian or Rose in her head. Only they can hear it.**

**Rose POV**

The plane lands at the academy airstrip and I can't wait to get out and stretch my legs. There are two black SUV's waiting for us to drive to the hotel. We're not staying at the school, just using their runway since it has wards up. I go to get into the drivers seat of the first car, but Dimitri blocks the door, not letting me in. "I would like to get there in one piece. You can have shot gun." he tells me. Where's the love?

"Fine, I'll just drive the other car." I huff. Suddenly I hear a lot of comotion behind me.

"Crap! Someone get to the car before Rose!" I try to run but Dimitri grabs me from behind and is holding onto my waist as Alex hops in the drivers side seat of the other SUV.

"Sorry Rose, but I, uh, always wanted to drive one of these. I hope you don't mind." he says a bit scared. I'm about to tell him how much I do mind when Dimitri spins me around to face him and crushes his lips to mine for a distracting kiss.

"I'll make it up to you when we get to the hotel, Roza. I promise." he whispers in a husky voice against my lips. Hmm? Driving or hot, sweaty, passionate sex with my Russian God? Okay, that really is no contest. I give him a smile and another quick kiss before I concede and go sit in the passenger seat.

_"Ahh come on Rose. Don't give up so easily." _Adrian_._

"Sorry Adrian, but Dimitri was very persuasive." Dimitri looks over to me and smiles, knowing I'm talking to the royal Moroi in my head.

_"I think you're going soft on me Little Dhampir. The old Rose would have put up a better fight." _He has a point. I look over to Dimitri and look him up and down. He sees me checking him out and he chuckles.

"How about you let me drive, and _I'll_ make it up to _you_ when we get to the hotel?" I give him my best man eating smile. I can see the wheels turning in his mind over my latest proposition.

_"No Rose, that's not what I meant. You can't have both! Dimitri, if you can hear me, stay strong, man. Don't give in to her!"_

"Stop screaming Adrian. He can't hear you. You're gonna ruin this for me." Dimitri snaps out of his lustful thoughts of how I was going to repay him and frowns.

"Nice try Roza, but I think I'll stay right where I am." Damn. I shouldn't have said anything out loud.

We get to the hotel and check in. The nice thing about being backed by the Queen is the unlimited budget. We get four rooms close to each other. Dimitri and I in one room, Lissa and Christian in another and the last two rooms are divided into girls and boys. It's getting late so everyone heads to their room to get some sleep. I tell them we'll start hunting in the morning. I can see that everyone is a little nervous about our first excursion. I know I am. This isn't exactly normal. I go into the room and practically tackle Dimitri on the bed. Dimitri spends the next few hours making it up to me. Yeah, it's definitely worth not driving. Finally, we fall asleep wrapped up in each others arms.

As I drift off to sleep, I find myself in a beautiful meadow full of brightly colored wild flowers. The sun is shining and there is a warm breeze blowing my hair around. I'm wearing a white flowing sundress. I fell so Little House on the Prairie. Adrian comes walking up behind me and puts his arms around my waist.

"Do you like it Little Dhampir?" he whispers in my ear. If this were happening in real life, I would have breakin away from his embrace because of Dimitri. But I know this whole situation has been hard on him and he does love me, so I don't object.

"It's lovely, Adrian. How are you doing? Are you nervous about our first hunting trip in the morning?" he doesn't say anything for a few minutes.

"I'm afraid for you. I want you to be careful and not go running in without thinking things through. Listen to Dimitri. He knows what he's doing."

"You're siding with Dimitri?" They don't usually advocate for each other.

"We have the same objective, your safety. So yeah, I am." He then turns me around so that I am facing him but still in his arms. "You look beautiful by the way." He leans down and gently kisses my lips. I back away slowly, not letting it get further than that. He smiles at me and takes my hand, intertwining our fingers, and we start walking through the flowers. We walk in a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each others company. He is the first to break the silence. "I feel the magic getting stronger. I would like for us to try to work on Spirit with Lissa and Peter. Maybe we can practice healing. I still need some work on that. Maybe that's why we couldn't put my soul back last time." That sounds good, but I have a few reservations.

"I'm just worried about the darkness that you get when using your magic. I get enough from Lissa through the bond. I'll have twice as much to deal with. It's gonna make me a little unpleasant to live with, to say the least. I also don't want to become a drunk trying to deal with the effects of Spirit."

"I've been thinking about this. We need to learn how to harness the darkness so you can use it when you fight. It gives you extra strength, right?" I think about that. It does seem to amp up my desire to do some damage which makes me hit harder and longer. I nod at him and he continues. "I also think that you can learn to tap into the Spirit magic yourself, since it's already here. Maybe me sharing your body is part of the prophecy, making you a better fighter. We just need to figure out how to use it to our advantage."

"That makes sense. That also means that you will have to be present when I'm fighting. No hiding away. It's painful to get hit by a Strigoi, so you're gonna have to get used to it." He winces a little at the thought of the pain he'll feel. I put my arm around his waist as we keep walking. This is so comfortable, so nice. I like having him all to myself sometimes. How selfish am I? I feel the dream starting to fade which means I'm waking up. Adrian takes to opportunity to give me a deep, intimate kiss before I dissapear. I don't mind. He's a great kisser.

I wake up with Dimitri's strong arms wrapped around me. I look up at him and see the hunger and lust in his eyes. He leans down and starts kissing my neck making me giggle. I can get used to waking up like this.

We all head down for breakfast before we leave for our first hunting trip. Nobody says much, too nervous. I bring down the stake that Dimitri modified for Adrian and give it to Mia to use. She looks at me shocked. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Thank you Rose. You don't know what this means to me." She gushes.

"Don't get the wrong idea there, missy. It's for extra protection, not for you to go running out like a crazy person. Since you're your own guardian, I figured you could use it, eventually. You still need to be trained on how to properly use it, so don't do anything with it today, okay?" She nods and puts it away in her bag. Jacob is staring at me in disbelief.

"Where's mine?" he asks, arms crossed over his chest.

"You have a guardian who has a stake. And you have fire magic at your disposal so you don't need one. You'd probably just end up getting yourself hurt." He rolls his eyes but doesn't press the matter further.

We're not really sure where to start looking. I doubt that there are still Strigoi in the house we raided earlier, so we decide to go where there are a lot of people around. Strigoi would probably hunt where the pickin's are plenty. Since I have my warning system to alert me whenever Strigoi are around, we just walk and wait. Since Lissa and Peter are the least able to defend themselve I make sure they are surrounded by the rest of us. Eddie stays right next to Lissa the whole time. If the circumstances were different, Christian would be getting jealous at their closeness.

We walk into a convention center and hotel that is full of business men and women. I don't know what business they are in, but they all look way to happy. One of them comes up to me and hands me a business card. 'Be your own boss' it says. I roll my eyes and hand it back to him. They must spike the punch at these things because we had quite a few of these sheep handing us their cards and telling us how happy and rich they are now. Whatever. Just as we are about to leave, the nausea cames slamming into my gut.

"They're here." I tell everyone. We all go on high alert, looking for someone with the tell tale red eyes. I look over into one of the rooms next to me and see a man with sunglasses on. Who wears sunglasses at night in a building unless you're hiding something, like unusual eyes? I tell the others to stay out of sight while I go talk to him. Dimitri doesn't like it but he stays just outside the door, ready to attack if I need help. I walk up to him as naturally as I can, hoping not to tip him off that he is about to be dead soon. He has one of those name tags stuck to his shirt that says 'Hello my name is Bob'. He sees me coming and smiles.

"Are you here to get rich quick or do you have something else in mind?" he says looking me up and down. Perv.

"I'm looking for someone actually. Bob. Do you know where I can find Adrian Ivashkov?" I never thought I'd see the day I would be having a polite conversation with an member of the evil undead, but I don't want to spook the humans. He looks at me confused but answers me anyways.

"I don't know anything about Ivashkov. I thought you'd be looking for someone a little more powerful than some spoiled royal. Unless he dumped you after he was done having his fun and now you're looking for some revenge. That would be fun to watch, but unfortunately I don't know where to find him."

_"I resent that." _

"Well, can you tell me where Ezekiel is?" His smile goes wider. Yeah, I think he knows something.

"And if I did, why would I tell you?"

"Because I'll kill you if you don't." I say dryly. Does he really think I'm going to negotiate?

"You'll kill me anyway." Hmm, he's not as stupid as he looks.

"What do you want?" He leans in close to me and whispers in my ear. I get chills from his proximity, and not the good kind.

"Your blood. You smell devine, like nothing I have ever come across. I promise not to kill you. I just want a snack."

_"Rose, don't even think about it! Just turn around and walk away or so help me..."_

_"What Adrian? What will you do? I just need to get him out of here and somewhere private. I don't want to cause a scene."_

_"No. Find someone else to get the information from. Don't risk it." _I need to learn to block him out_._

"Fine. Your room then?" He looks stunned and suspicous that I actually ageed. He's not the only one. I follow him out of the meeting room and toward the elevator. I give Dimitri a look that hopefully said 'follow me'. Apparently he got the message because behind us he and Katie were walking arm in arm like they were a couple, talking quietly to each other. They got on the elevator with us. As soon as the doors closed, I pull out my stake and put it up against his throat causing him to hiss in pain. "Tell me what I want to know and I'll stop." he pushes me off and I slam against the wall and fall to the floor.

_"Son of a bitch!" _Adrian shouts.

Dimitri immediately jumps on him and gets Bob to the ground. Katie jumps on his legs while Dimitri lays his weight across his torso and arms. I crawl over to Bob's head and slowly rake my stake across his cheek. He screams and tries to free himself, but we manage to keep him down. "I'll give you one more chance, Bob. Don't make me do that again." I start to put make stake against his other cheek when he starts to panic.

"Okay, okay. All I know is that Ezekiel has a house somewhere around the Royal Court. I heard he went there recently. That's all I know, I swear." By the look in his eyes, I believe him. The doors open when we get to Bob's floor and I look down the hallway to see if anyone is around. It's empty. Dimitri slowly gets of him while Katie and I ready ourselves for an attack. Bob lunges at me but I manage to get out of the way before he tackles me. He comes for me again but Katie distracts him long enough with a punch to his side so I can plunge my stake right into his heart. I watch the red drain from his eyes as he dies. I search his jacket and find his key card to his room. We drag him down the hallway and leave him on his bed. Dimitri call the alchemist to come take care of the body.

As we get back in the elevator, we're all silent. I can tell Dimitri is upset with me, but didn't want to say anything in front of Katie. She must have sensed our uneasiness. I mean, how could she not. The tension in this little box was so thick you could cut it with a knife. She's either really brave or really stupid because she thought this was a good time to speak her mind.

"That was a really good plan, Rose. Luring him up here away from all those people. Good thinking." Dimitri glared at her and she immediately went quiet and her face paled in fear a little. I put my hand on his arm to get him to stop glaring at her and look at me.

"Dimitri..." I started to say.

"We'll discuss this back at the hotel, alone." Not good.

"What's to discuss? We got some information that will hopefully lead us to Adrian and we rid the world of a Strigoi. I say we did pretty good. You have to trust me Dimitri. I know you would prefer me to be back at the hotel locked in our room, but that's not gonna happen." I look into his eyes and I can see him soften up. He cups my face in his hands and leans down and touches his forehead to mine.

"I know Roza, but that doesn't make it easier. I can't lose you."

"You won't." I reach up on my tippy toes and meet his lips with mine. He responds by deepening the kiss, causing me to moan. I forgot we weren't alone until I hear Katie clearing her throat, causing us to break out contact. "Sorry."

We meet the others down stairs and we head back to our hotel. We all talk about our next step. Lissa gets on the phone to get us on a plane to go back to Court. We can't leave until tomorrow so we decide to relax and have a nice dinner together. I just hope all our missions go this smoothly. Keep your fingers crossed.

**I hope you liked this chapter. Review and let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, I hope this story is meeting your expectations so far. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews.  
**

**This chapter is more fun than anything. I hope you like it as much as I do.**

**Rose POV**

I. Am. Starving! Man, torturing and killing Strigoi can really work up an appetite. We all got back to our hotel around the time we would normally eat dinner. But since we are in the human world right now, there aren't many restaurants open this time of night. Luckily, when you have money to spend, hotel kitchens can do miraculous things. I decided that since we are going to be together for awhile, and putting our lives in each others hands, we needed to get to know each other better. I mean, some of us grew up together or have been through tramatic events that brought us closer, but some are still pretty much strangers. So I order a ton of food like pizza, potato skins, nachos, you know, the basics. Rose Ann insisted that I order some vegetables since she is into eating healthy, so I ordered some onion rings too. Onions are veggies, right? I tell everyone to get comfortable and put on their pj's and meet in Dimitri's and my room.

"I sleep in the nude. That won't be a problem will it, Rose?" Jacob smirks. He never disappoints in finding some way to make anything about sex. I wonder if he would actually go throught with it so I decide to call his bluff. I look at him and let my gaze travel up and down slowly and smile, letting him see me checking him out.

"No problem here. If you're comfortable eating dinner with the rest of us in just what God gave you, then more power to ya." I tell him as I pat his shoulder and head to my room to change. I glance back to see his reaction and he looks a bit shocked. Before I walk through the door he yells back to me.

"I'll do it if you do, Chickie." Ugh, not that nickname again. Fortunately, I learned my lesson last time he challeged me. I have the chicken tattoo on my ass as a reminder to always think things through before jumping in.

"I'm not falling for that again. But you do what you want." I shut the door behind me and go right to my bag to find my favorite sleep attire, flannel shorts and pink tank top. I go to the bathroom to change. When I get out, Dimitri looks at me and shakes his head.

"I think you'll be more comfortable in these." He hands me one of his t shirts that goes to my knees and a pair of my sweat pants. Apparently I'm showing to much skin for his liking.

"Is it really my comfort you're concerned about, or yours?" I ask. He walks up to me and puts his hands on my hips and pulls me close to him and leans down so our faces our just inches apart.

"Please, Roza. For me." It's so hard to refuse him anything when he looks at me like that.

"I'll wear the shirt but not the pants. Compromise. Okay?" He nods and places a little kiss on the end of my nose. I tell him what Jacob told me and laughs.

"He'll never do it. He's all talk." he says as he puts on his favorite pajama pants and tshirt. It's amazing how he could make anything look sexy. Just looking at him makes my heart flutter. I walk over to him and slide my hands around his waist and rest them on his rock hard stomach. I plant little kisses all along his back shoulders. My hands go under his shirt and make their way up to his sculptured chest, causing him to moan. "Don't start something you can't finish, Roza. We have guests coming remember?" Oh yeah. I almost forgot.

"But they're not here yet." I whisper against the back of his neck sending an obvious shiver down his spine. He turns around to face me and puts his hands on the back of my thighs, lifting me up so we are face to face. I wrap my legs arounds his waist and my arms around his neck. He presses his lips to mine and kisses me deeply. We're too engulfed in each other to notice that someone has walked in and is standing by the door watching us.

"Ahem. Do you guys think you can keep your hands off each other for the next few hours? Nobody needs to see that." Christian says as he and Lissa walk over to the couch in the room. Lissa slaps his arm and looks over to me and smiles.

"It's good to see you so happy Rose." Lissa said. I hopped off Dimitri but left my arms around him, giving Lissa a smile. Everyone else eventually strolls in, except Jacob. He's the last to show up and when he does, I am shocked. The boys room was an ajoining one next to ours. He walks through that door, naked as a jay bird. Everyone groans and covers their eyes, except me.

"Will you put that thing away? We're eating here, man." Alex yells at him. Jacob stands proud and looks over to me since I was the only one not averting my eyes.

"Like what you see, Chickie?" he asks with his arms out as he turns around to give me a full view.

_"Rose, tell the boy to put some clothes on so he'll stop embarrassing himself." _Adrian finally pipes up.

"Okay Jacob, you proved your point, now will you please cover yourself? I don't need a everyone's retinas burned by the sight of you." I keep my eyes locked on his, not backing down. He gives me a stupid grin and shrugs his shoulders.

"Your loss." He walks back through the door, hopefully to put some clothes on. We all pile our plates with food and sit in a big circle. I'm sitting on the floor next to Dimitri and my sister Rose Ann.

"Where are the vegetables, Rose?" Rose Ann asks me while looking over the table of food in front of her.

"I ordered a veggie pizza. Pick the toppings off your slice and then you have yourself a salad." I say as I stuff my mouth with greasy fried goodness. She looks back with me and lets out a big sigh.

"You know Rose, you should really be eating better. All this junk isn't going to help you stay at peak condition for battling the undead masses. I can help you design a better eating plan." Is she freakin' serious?! I don't eat that bad normally, but I do get a little cranky without my morning dose of sugar in the form of a gooey delicious donut.

"She has a point, Rose. You need more nutritious food in you diet." Dimitri chimes in. Et tu, Brute? I look around the room and everyone nods in agreement, except Jacob. He's just laughing. I finish swallowing the food in my mouth and glare at my sister.

"Fine, whatever. You can be in charge of ordering food from now on if no one likes what I order." I pout. She gives me a little smile while slowly shaking her head and putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Rose, you'll thank me for this later." She says. Yeah right. If I don't die of starvation first. Everyone gradually finishes their plates, so I decide we need to play a little game to help us all get better acquainted. I go over to the desk and pull out some paper and pens. I hand everyone one of each and sit back down with Dimitri.

"Okay everyone, here is what we'll do. I want everyone to write down two true facts about yourself and one lie. When we're all done, we'll each read our list out loud while the others try to guess the lie. Whoever guesses the most lies wins." The room goes quiet except for the sound of pens scratching on paper. About five minutes later, everyone seems to be done so I figure I'd start. "Alright, I once ate a platefull of worms because someone told me that's what the best guardians ate to fight better; I tried to dye my hair blond once but something went wrong and it ended up being orange, and my middle name is Agnas." Everyone chuckled and wrote down on the back of their paper which one was a lie. Next was Dimitri.

"I have three sisters, I totalled my first car when I ran it into a ditch after racing with my friends and I have only told one woman I loved her." The last statement caused the biggest smile to light my face as I turned to him and gave him a big kiss. That one better be true.

Next is Alex. "I can ride a unicycle, I have a half brother, and I have a birthmark in the shape of a heart on my left butt cheek." A couple people look over at me to see if I could give them a clue as to whether the birthmark one is true or not.

"I don't know! We never got that far. Jeeze." I huff. Alex blushes a little and looks over to Jacob to read his list. This should be good.

"I can bench press 150 pounds, I once shaved all my hair off because the girl I liked said she thought Vin Diesel's bald head was cute, and I collect rare coins." I was expecting something a little more embarrassing, but this is good. Next is Mia.

"I once gave this girl I didn't like some Exlax brownies, I can do the splits and I can speak french." With the history Lissa and I have with Mia, I'm certain the first one is true. Next is Peter.

"Growing up I had a pet turtle named Butch, I know all the words to US Constitution by heart and I'm allergic to dandelions." He doesn't look up, just down at his paper. We have got to work on getting him out of his shell. I bet the turtle thing is true. Next is Katie.

"I can write with my toes, I once broke my arm jumping off a roof trying to fly like Superman, and I hate beets." Next is Eddie.

"I'm afraid of spiders, I once ate a whole can of dog food on a dare, and I had my first kiss when I was ten behind the middle campus gym and the girl gave me a black eye right afterwards." I gasped at the last one because the girl he's talking about was me. Luckily I think the only one that heard me was Dimitri because he just rubbed my back and laughed softly. No one else looked my way. After Eddie was Lissa. I know I'll get this right. I know everything about her.

"I can do origami, I was named after my great, great grandmother, and I once cheated on a math test because I was too busy getting drunk with my best friend the night before to study." Sure, blame me for failing a math test. I gave her a little glare and she just shrugged her shoulders at me and smiled. Christian's next.

"I can make grilled cheese sandwhiches with just my hands, I once burned the fur off a cat just for the hell of it and I threw up after my one and only roller coaster ride." Lissa wasn't too happy about the cat comment. I hope for his sake that was the lie. Finally it was Rose Ann's turn.

"I can play the harmonica, I grew up in Russia until I was sent to live with my aunt in California when I was seven and my favorite movie is Braveheart." Hmm, that's a toughie. Just when I think we're all done, Adrian decides he wants to play.

_"Wait Rose, I want to go too."_

"Okay, Adrian wants to play to. Alright Adrian, what do want to say?" I stopped talking so Adrian could give me his little list.

_"Alright, I like to spend my free time reading to the blind. Go ahead Rose, tell them." _I roll my eyes and repeat what he just said to everyone else. _"I spent one summer traveling through Europe visiting all the famous museums and other great works of art."_ Again I repeat what he said. _"And last but not least, I am in love with the most beautiful woman in the world and I won't give up pursuing her until she is mine and we have at least four little dhampir babies." _I can't believe he just said that. There is no way I am saying that at loud, especially in front of Dimitri. So I make one up on my own.

"And he used to wet the bed until he was fourteen." Everyone started laughing so hard I thought Christian was going to pee himself. As it was he had to sprint to the bathroom to avoid an accident. Yeah, Adrian didn't like that.

_"Rose! That is NOT what I said! Now say it right." _He sounds pissed.

_"No way. I'm not telling everyone you're in love with me."_

_"Who said I was talking about you?" _Well that shut me up. I suddenly felt hurt and jealous at this statement. I shouldn't be since I know I'm in love with Dimitri, but still, I didn't like it.

"_Oh, so who's the girl?" _I said a little bitter.

_"Jealous, are we? You tell them what I really said and I'll tell you who I'm talking about."_

_"It's too late now. We'll discuss this later." _I tell him. I'm sure he's bluffing because he hasn't met anyone else since he last declared his love for me. "Alright. now we'll go around and you need to tell us which statement was the lie. My lie was dying my hair. Like I would mess with this gorgeous mane. Dimitri."

"I never wrecked my car. I never even owned one." By process of elimination, I new that one was the lie, or he would have some explaining to do. Next is Alex.

"I can't ride a unicycle." Ooh, so he does have a heart shape birthmark. I look over to Rose Ann who gives him a little smile which causes Alex to blush. I lean over to read her paper and see she got that one right. I give her a little nudge to the ribs with my elbow and she responds by pushing me over onto Dimitri's lap.

"Shut up Rose." I didn't even say anything.

"Wait, so you have a brother then. Who is he?" I ask. He doesn't say anything but points to Jacob. I look over to Jacob thinking he's going to tell me until it dawns on me. I know, I can be a little slow sometimes. "Jacob is your brother?" Alex nods. "Wow, I'm really sorry." Jacob just scowls at me.

"Go on Jacob, it's your turn" Lissa says.

"I never shaved my head. I chickened out at the last minute, thank goodness because I found out the next day she started going out with someone else." That would have been hilarious to see. Next is Mia.

"I can't speak French." I knew the brownie trick was true. Next is Peter.

"I'm not allergic to dandelions." Well, I got that one wrong. I thought for sure it was the constitution thing. Katie's up.

"I love beets actually. I could put them on everything." Note to self, don't eat of Katie's plate. Eddie's next.

"I'm not afraid of spiders." Christian decides to investigate his list a little futher.

"So, who was the girl? Anyone we know?" Shit. Don't say anything Eddie or I will hurt you. He blushes and glances my way just long enough to for Christian to notice. He looks over to me with a stupid grin.

"Your first kiss was Rose? And she hit you afterwards?" He starts laughing and everyone else joins in.

"Rose, why would you hit him after he kissed you?" Katie asks. I need to defend myself.

"I was only ten and he scared the hell out of my when he stuck his tongue in my mouth." I huff. this was met with more laughter. I need nicer friends. I look over to Lissa to save me.

"I can't do origami." she shrugs. Next is her obnoxious boyfriend.

"Don't worry Lissa, I never burned the fur off a cat. I shaved one once, but never burned." I don't doubt it. He seems the type. Rose Ann is next.

"I can't play the harmonica. In fact, I have no musical ability what so ever." she admits.

"So what part of Russia are you from?" Of course Dimitri would ask. I know he misses his family there and wants to visit soon. Maybe we should have the wedding there? I'll have to talk to him about that later.

"Novosibirsk, in Siberia. My mom was a guardian at an academy there. After she was turned, I was sent to America." Dimitri looked like he might know who her mom was, but didn't ask. Rose Ann looked a little sad talking about her mom. I continued with the game to lighten the mood and get the attention off her.

"Okay Adrian, which one was the lie?" Of course, I know, but ask anyway.

"_You figure it out Rose." _He's still mad.

"He says the lie is the Europe trip." Everyone starts laughing again.

"I don't believe you Rose. Poor Adrian doesn't have a way to defend himself. For all we know, you could have made everything up." Lissa comes to his rescue. I give her an exagerated shock expression.

"Moi? I'm offended that you would suggest such a thing." I say as seriously as I can, but no one's buying it. "Okay, okay. Who guessed the most lies. I guessed eight right, not including Adrians." Everyone gave their number and Peter was the winner with all correct guesses. Jacob stood up and pointed an accusing finger toward Peter.

"Hey, hey, hey, he cheated. He can feel when we lie. That's not fair." he whines. God, what a baby. I look over to Peter and he smiles and shrugs.

"I can't help it if you are all terrible liars." he says.

"I agree with Peter. He won fair and square. Deal with it. What would you like, Peter?" he thinks about it for a minute.

"Can you teach me how to fight? I hate being so defenseless around you guys." I think that's a pretty reasonable request so I look over to Mia, since she's been learning how to fight too. Plus, I've noticed Peter glancing over at her all night. I think he may be crushing on her a little.

"Mia, would you be able to show Peter some of the moves you've learned?" She looks over at Peter and smiles at him.

"Sure Peter, I'd love to help." Maybe something will happen during their training sessions. It's not unheard of. I should know. We all get up and everyone goes back to rooms. I go to the bathroom and start brushing my teeth when Dimitri comes behind me and starts kissing my neck. He stops and looks at me in the mirror and starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" I ask.

"I can't get the image of you punching Eddie after he kissed you. I'm glad you're no longer afraid of kissing like that." I spit and rinse and turn around to face him. I reach my hands behind his neck and pull him down and kiss him.

"Yeah, I'm glad he didn't totally traumitize me either."

**Well, did you like it? Review and let me know.**


	4. Chapter 4

**On with the show**

**Rose POV**

As I drifted off the sleep, I found myself on the beach by the pacific ocean. It was the same beach I went to with Alex and the others to surf. The ocean was a beautiful shade of blue and the waves were perfect swells. I'm sitting on a blanket with my bikini and sunglasses on. The sun felt great warming my skin. I wasn't sure if Adrian was still mad at me for the game we played earlier tonight so I didn't know if I would see him. Should I go look for him or let him come to me? Well, it was kinda my fault, so I'll get up and look around to see if he's lurking nearby. Nope. I put the flip flops on that were next to me and start walking down the beach calling out his name. I walk about a mile down this beach with no sign of him. I even venture into the caves to see if he's hiding in there. I turn around and head back the way I came. This is ridiculous. Why is he being such a baby.

"Adrian, I'm tired of looking for you. I'm sorry, okay. If you want to talk to me then you come out. Otherwise I'm going to sit back and relax and enjoy the sun. It's up to you." I yell into the air. Where ever he is, I'm sure he heard me. I find the blanket I was on earlier and lie back down. I hope I can't get sunburned in a dream. That would suck. I stay there alone for what seems like hours. I see the sky ripple a little and realize that I'm about to wake up and I didn't even get to talk to Adrian. I quickly get up and write a message in the sand.

I'm sorry. Love your Little Dhampir

I hope he gets the message. The dreams fades away and I wake up with my favorite warm hard body hovering over me covering my neck with kisses. I moan and run my hands up along his back.

"Oh good... you're awake." he says. I raise my head up and start to kiss his neck and shoulders.

"What... do you expect... when you... start touching... me like this?" I manage to get out between kisses. He trails his kisses to my lips and overtakes my mouth with his. It doesn't take long until we are on to bigger and better things. I don't know why, but whatever he is doing to me feels so intense and electrifying, like every nerve ending has been turned up a few notches. It feels amazing. I have to let the pleasure out somehow before I explode so I moan loudly and call out Dimitri's name. My heart was beating so hard it sounded like it was a beating drum. I think I even screamed once. I'm not sure. When we both reached our peak we lay next to each other, trying to catch our breath.

"Holy shit, Dimitri. That was...the best." By the smile he has on his face, I'd say he agrees. I snuggle up close to him and close my eyes to go back to sleep. I am worn out after that. I found myself on the same beach I was earlier. The note in the sand I left for Adrian was still there, but fading due to the tide coming in and washing it away. I look around and still don't see Adrian anywhere. Well, I'm not going to play his games. I walk into the water and stand waist high letting the waves move me around. I stand there and think back to what happened this evening to piss him off so much. He wanted me to announce to everyone that he was in love with me and wanted to be with me and start a family, and I wouldn't do it. Sure what I did say was childish and a little mean, but it was all in good fun. But what really bothered me was when he said he wasn't talking about me. The jealousy that erupted shocked me. Why was I feeling like this. I hated myself for being so selfish. Adrian was my best friend. I want him to be happy, but part of me wanted to be the one to make him smile and no one else. I need to stop getting so close to him. I made my choice. I chose Dimitri and now I need to let Adrian go.

I've been standing in the warm water a good hour daydreaming about kissing and touching my Russian God before I felt someone watching me. I know it's Adrian, I mean, who else would it be. I feel his arms caress my waist from behind me. His touch feels nice. His warm breath suddenly on my neck makes me shiver. I really should stop him, but my body won't respond to what my mind it telling it to do.

"I accept your apology. Did you like my gift?" I turn around and look at him confused.

"What gift?" He gets this crazy smile on his face and laughs like he is embarrassed about something. I actually see him blush. Now I'm really curious as to what gift he is referring. I give him a light punch to his arm to get his attention. "Again, I say what gift?" He looks me in the eye and smiles again.

"When you left the dream earlier, did something...unusual happen?" he asks. I think back and remember Dimitri and I making love, but we do that all the time, much to Adrian's dismay. But it was different. It was way more intense than it has been before. I look at him suspicious. Is that what he is referring to? I'm almost afraid to mention it if it's not anywhere near the ballpark.

"Umm, well, Dimitri and I, umm..." I couldn't look at him and tell him what we did. Luckily I didn't have to.

"I know what you did, Rose. But did you notice something different, something better about it?" Hell yeah I did.

"What did you do Adrian?" His smile got even wider if that was possible.

"I was practicing with Spirit trying to distract myself from you're middle of the night activities when I thought I would try a little experiment. Did you like it?" I tried to keep a straight face, not letting on how great it was because I was a little embarrasssed by my vocal reaction.

"Yeah, it was very pleasant. Can you do it again?" He laughs at my answer and pulls me into him and wraps his arms around me.

"Of course, but not every time. It takes a lot out of me. Plus, if Dimitri found out, I don't think he would approve of my assistance." Thinking of Dimitri causes feelings of guilt to flood into me. I didn't want to feel like that again knowing it wasn't all him making me feel that way. I pulled away from his embrace and just held his hands in mine.

"You're right. Don't do that again." He looks a little hurt, but nods. "I'm sorry, it's just that knowing it was you who made me feel like that, I feel like I'm cheating on Dimitri."

"Of course, I'm sorry. But now that we know that Spirit can effect you physically, hopefully we can use it to make you stronger and faster when you're fighting Strigoi. Then you'll really be unstopable." Wow. That would be awesome.

"When we get to Court, I'll have Dimitri train with me and we can try it then. " He nods. Now I need to talk to him about what he told me last night. This isn't going to be pleasant. "Adrian, who were you talking about when you said you were in love? You said it wasn't me, so who?" He looks down at the water between us.

"I was talking about you, of course. I was just hurt that you didn't want to say it so I said what I did to hurt you. I'm sorry." Traitorous relief washed over me. Now I need to break his heart.

"Adrian, we can't keep going on like this, getting too close. I'm marrying Dimitri, I love him. Everytime I touch or kiss you I'm cheating on him, and he doesn't deserve that. I don't want to do that to him." He stays quiet, digesting what I just told him. Then he looks up at me a little angry.

"What about me? I know you love me. Not as much as him, but still love. I love you so much Rose, it kills me knowing he makes you happier. But what about me? What if we never find a way to put my soul back into my body and I am here forever. Alone, never to know what it's like for someone to love me back the way I love her. There aren't any other women around here for me to be with. Just you. Am I supposed to be alone for the rest of our lives?" God, why does he have to have a good point. It makes me feel even guiltier.

"Well, you can pull other people into our dreams, so when you see someone you want to meet, pull them in and I'll make myself scarce." He gives me his 'are you serious' look.

"What woman out there wants a relationship with a man she will never be able to touch or introduce to her parents or have a family with. Only to see me when she's asleep. It won't work Rose."

"Well then, we need to make sure we succeed because I can't be split in two, one Rose for you and one for Dimitri. That isn't going to work either." At this point my voice is getting to yelling status. I'm starting to get a litte aggrivated with this whole conversation. Adrian and I stand there in the water just staring at each other, as if waiting for the other to back down. I hear someone clear their throat in the distance. I look over and search the beach for the source of the noise when I see him, Dimitri. I turn back to Adrian and give him my most ferocious glare. How dare he pull Dimitri in here to hear our private conversation without my knowledge. I know this effects him too, but I would've like to know he was here.

I walk over to Dimitri a little nervous about what he heard and how he feels about all this. I stop right in front of him, afraid he'll push me away.

"Hey comrade, how long have you been standing here?" I hope he didn't hear my voice crack. I look up to see his face and he has his mask up, showing no emotion. That's not good.

"Since he got here." Great. He heard the whole conversation. He stays silent after that, never looking at me. I feel panick start to build inside me as I think he will pull away and leave me again. I don't think I could live through that one more time. Tears start to build up in my eyes and I try desperately not to let them out. I inhale deeply to keep the sob building in my throat down, but it doesn't work . Dimitri looks down at me and moves closer to wrap his arms around me.

"Oh Roza, I'm not mad at you. You did nothing wrong." I let out a breath of relief and squeeze him tight. "I think we all need to sit down and talk." I look over my shoulder to Adrian and he is still in the water looking out at the horizon. I grab Dimitri's hand and lead him over to the water, behind Adrian.

"Adrian, we need to talk." He looks over to us and nods. As he is walking out of the water, three beach chairs appear before us. They each sit in a chair and instead of sitting in the third, I go over to Dimitri's chair and he automatically sits back and pulls me down with him. I feel the need to let both of them know who has my heart. Adrian is the first to speak.

"Rose, you could have told me you invited him to our little paradise here." What?

"I thought you did it. I'm not the Spirit user here, you are. How would I do that?"

"What were you thinking about before I showed up?" he asks. I don't really want to tell him about the r-rated thoughts I was having about Dimitri. I guess I didn't have to when I could feel all the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"That's what I thought. Your emotions must have pulled him in without your knowing it. The magic is getting stronger. We need to be careful because the darkness will get stronger too." Well, that sucks.

"How do you deal with the darkness you create when you use Spirit? You can't exactly smoke and drink like you used to." Dimitri says very down to business. Unfortunately, he isn't going to like the answer.

"Rose. Being close to her helps me defuse the darkness and let's it fade away. Just like you do for Rose. When she is with you, your physical contact, strength and presence allows her to release the darkness she pulls from Lissa. If I allow it to build up, I don't know what will happen to Rose."

"But couldn't she deal with your darkness like she does Lissa's" Good point.

"It's seperate. I can keep my darkness away from Rose, for awhile. But I think if I let it get to strong, it will burst forth and cause Rose to overload. That much darkness all at once can't be good. She could get very dangerous, not just to herself but to anyone around her at the time." he explained.

"Okay, now what were you talking about when you said Spirit effected her physically? Was that about the darkness too?" Dimitri asks. I felt myself blush and laugh a little when the memories of our earlier escapades came to mind.

"Umm, Adrian did something with Spirit while we were being intimate earlier and it caused me to feel everything...amplified, so to say." He thinks about that for a second and he then starts to chuckle.

"I wondered why you were so much louder than usual." he said. Well, at least he doesn't seem upset by it. "And here I thought it was my outstanding love making skills." He started laughing harder and Adrian and I just stared at him. Unable to hold it in any longer, we both joined him in a fit of laughter. We finally calmed down and I decided to shift the topic.

"We want to try using Spirit while I'm fighting to see if it can make me stronger and faster. I was thinking we should practice first before using it against actual Strigoi in case there are any negative side effects for me or Adrian." He nods at me and kisses my cheek.

"It's good to hear you being so cautious. I think that's a great idea. When we get to Court, we'll try it out." This talk is going great. Then Adrian had to open his big fat mouth and ruin it.

"I'm in love with Rose." is all he said. He looked right into Dimitri's eyes and just blurted it out. I felt Dimitri tense up and his hands formed into tight fists. I grabbed one of his hands and tried to get him to relax by rubbing it between my hands. I glared at Adrian. Does he have a death wish? He must because he just kept talking. "She loves me too. When she offered her blood to me and I drank back at the house, it created a bond between us. Not a psychic bond like with Lissa, but a love bond. I think that's why my soul was able to transfer to her body and stay here. It's going to be a lot harder than we think to get my soul back into my body. I could possibly be here for the rest of her life."

"How do you know all this?" I ask him. Is there a book of secrets in my head that he is getting all this information from?

"I feel it Rose. I know you feel it too. A pull toward each other that was created at the moment your blood touched my lips. I warned you that it would happen." I felt anger rising inside me.

"You're blaming me for this aren't you?" He looks down and shakes his head.

"Rose, I'm grateful for you for saving my soul. But it doesn't change the fact that I am here and I love Rose as much as you do Dimitri, maybe even more." he says looking right at us.

"I highly doubt that." Dimitri replies. The testosterone level just shot up. I'm just waiting for Adrian to produce some caveman clubs so they can start beating each other with them. Men.

"This isn't helping anything. Yes, I love you both, but my heart belongs to Dimitri. We have a bond too Adrian. I'm going to marry him. I'm going to be his wife, and only_ his _wife. We have to be happy with being just friends." The look on Adrian's face just about kills me. He looks so hurt and defeated.

"Fine. I'll back off. I don't want to hurt you, Rose." With that he stood up and walked away without another word.

"Is he right, Rose? Do you have a bond with Adrian?" I can hear the insecurity in his voice and I want to reassure him but I also don't want to lie.

"Yes, there is a bond between us, but that just means that we will always be a part of each other's lives, like good friends. I doesn't change the way I feel about you or our future together. Adrian will be a part of our lives just like Lissa is."

"He needs you." He sounds like he is talking more to himself than to me. "I'm worried that with all the Spirit you two want to use to make you a stronger fighter will ultimately hurt you."

"Well, we'll find out soon enough." I lay my head against his chest listening to the rhythm of his heart. It makes me feel so safe and at peace. We stay there a little bit longer until the dreams fades away and we are once again in our room laying side by side on the bed. "Good morning." I say as I lean closer and kiss his soft lips. As I start to lean back to look at his face, he puts his hand on the back of my neck and pulls my back to him. He kisses me again, but this kiss is more intense. He deepens the kiss and rolls over so he is now on top of me. I think he feels like he needs to prove something to himself. Hey, I'll help any way I can. We make love for a second time in a few hours. Was it as intense and mind shattering as it was earlier? No, but it feels absolutely wonderful just the same. I let him know how good it feels vocally, which seems to turn him on more, which makes me feel even better and around and around it goes. By the time we're done, we are both drenched in sweat and out of breath. Who needs the gym to keep in shape?

We both hop in the shower and get ready for the flight back to Court. As I'm walking out the door of our room, I see Alex, Peter and Eddie exiting their room next door. They look exhausted.

"You guys look like shit. Didn't sleep well? Jacob snore?" I start to laugh at the thought of them with pillows over their ears trying to keep Jacob's loud snores at bay.

"It wasn't snoring that kept us awake most of the night." Eddie says looking at me with an annoyed look. Just then Jacob comes out of the room, sees me and starts yelling.

"Holy fuck, Rose! You do know that there are other people in this hotel that need sleep! Didn't you hear me banging on the wall?" I'm shocked. You would think I would remember that. "No, of course not. I'm not sleeping in an ajoining room next to you again. You two need to learn some restraint. Fuck!" he shouts as he storms down the hall to the elevator. Man, he's grumpy when he's tired. I just stand there stunned. I look over to the othe guys and turn beet red with embarrassment knowing they also heard me last night. Dimtri walks out and sees me and gives me a questioning look.

"We need to buy the guys some earplugs."

**I hope you liked it. I needed to try to lay some basics about Spirit and darkness in their unique situation. Review and let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Rose POV**

Here we are, back on a plane again. At least I'm getting better blocking out the ghosts and accompaning headache. As I sit in my seat looking at the clouds below us, I can't help but think about what Adrian, Dimitri and I talked about last night. Dealing with all the darkness that we'll create using Spirit is scaring me. Lissa is teaching Peter how to use his magic to heal, so she will be creating a lot of darkness herself. So not only do I have to deal with the darkness I pull from her, but I also need to help Adrian get rid of the darkness he produces helping me. What a mess.

I look over to my friends and see most of them asleep. I laugh quietly to myself thinking about why they didn't sleep well last night. I notice that Jacob and Mia are sitting together, rather closely, too. I wonder if something is going on there. I don't like it. I think Peter has a little crush on Mia, so I think I'll do what I can to help him out. I don't know why, but I feel very protective of Peter, kinda like a big sister. Speaking of sisters, I see Rose Ann and Alex sleeping cuddled up together in their seats. Hopefully they can find some time to spend alone together once we get to Court. With the wards and all the guardians there, they won't need to be with their charges so much.

Finally we touch down at the Court airstrip after a long trip. There are already cars there to take us to our quarters. We bunk up like we did at the hotel except no one wants the room next to me and Dimitri, so we are kinda off to ourselves, not that I'm complaining. I'm eager to start training to see what we can do with Spirit when it comes to fighting, so I quickly change into my work out clothes and head down to the gym. Dimitri says he'll meet me there. The gym there reminds me a lot of the one at St Vlads. I walk in and there are already some guardians there working out. I go to the side and start doing my stretches.

_"Adrian, are you ready to start experimenting with Spirit?" _I hope he's listening.

_"Yeah, I'm ready." _He sounds a little better that the last time I spoke to him. As I am sitting on the floor stretching out my legs, one of the Queen's guardians comes over to me. He's almost as tall as Dimitri and has lots of bulky muscles. Too bulky for my taste.

"So, little Guardian Hathaway is supposed to be the best fighter of all time. What an insult to real guardians like me." Oh no he didn't. I look up and glare at him. Who the hell does he think he is?

"At least you've heard of me. I have no idea who the hell you are." He scowls at me and then squats down so we are face to face.

"Oh you'll never forget me after today. I'm going to teach you a lesson about respect, little girl." He says as menacingly as he can. No way am I letting this jerk talk to me like that. I stand up and he mirrors my actions. We stand there toe to toe and I give him a big poke to his chest.

"You're on, asshole." My anger is starting to escalate and I stomp off to the mat and get ready to fight. He follows me laughing. Oh he is so going down.

_"Alright Rose, let's show this ass munch what we can do." _Adrian sounds just as angry as I do. He doesn't waste any time and lunges right at me trying to hit me with a right hook. I knew he would try something like that so I dodge it easily and punch him hard in the ribs. I startled him a little but he quickly recovers. He comes at me again and he manages to fake me out and lands a punch to my gut. That hurt. Well, I guess you wouldn't be one of the Queen's guardians if you weren't really good.

_"Alright Adrian, anytime now." _

_"Okay Rose. Here goes." _Suddenly I feel more power rushing through me. I decide to punch him in the gut and as soon as the thought appeared in my mind, I feel all the power go to my arm muscles and my arm struck out and hit him stomach so quickly that if you blinked, you missed it. He flew back and landed right on his butt, wind knocked out of him. The look of surprise on his face is priceless. Instead of pinning him, I go stand right over him splayed out on the mat.

"Had enough or are you ready for more?" He looks around and sees that a crowd has gathered. He grits his teeth and stands up looking pisssed. Obviously he isn't used to being on the loosing end of a fight. I take delight in being the one to beat him. He starts throwing punches and kicks as fast and hard as he can, but I manage to evade all of them. I haven't struck out yet, wanting to practice defense first. He is wearing himself out pretty quickly. I can tell he is getting frustrated that he hasn't brought me down yet.

"What's wrong? Didn't your cradle robbing mentor teach you how to attack? Or were you too busy screwing in the supply closet to do much actual combat instruction?" Oh, that did it! The anger inside me exploded like a nuclear bomb and I started seeing red. I spin around and give him a back kick right to his chest, sending him flying fifty feet across the gym, slamming him into the concrete wall. Wow. I stood there just staring at his motionless body laying on the floor. I was breathing heavy and shaking with anger. One of the other guardians who was watching us ran over to see if he was okay while another came over to attack me. Big mistake. As soon as he approached I instinctually started fighting. It didn't take long until he was a bloody mess on the floor. Suddenly there were about five guardians circling me, ready to take me down. I don't think so. I lashed out at each one so fast, they never saw it coming. Soon they all lay on the floor motionless. After that, no one came near me. The anger and fury is still pulsating inside me trying to get out, so I go to one of the punching bags and just start hitting and kicking it as hard as I can.

"Roza." I can hear Dimitri behind me but fear that I might hurt him overcomes me and I keep attacking the bag. "Roza stop!" I fight for control over my body and manage to stop hitting the bag. I let my arms fall to my sides and I can feel my whole body shaking violently from the darkness using all that Spirit has created. Adrian was right, all this darkness is dangerous. As soon as I stopped, Dimitri grabbed me from behind and held on to me tight. I struggle to get out of his grip at first. He starts whispering in my ear. "It's okay, Roza. Please come back to me. This isn't you. Come back to me Roza." His voice sweeps over and caresses me. It is so soothing I feel myself instantly calming down. My trembling fades away and I feel more relaxed as I the darkness fades away. My breathing comes back to normal and the redness I saw all around me before returns to normal. That was truely scary. Dimitri finally releases the death grip he has on me and turns me around to face him. He looks me intensly in the eyes, apparently searching to see if I'm really alright. He must like what he sees because he leans down and gently kisses my lips. "Are you alright now Roza?"

"Yeah, I think so." I look around and see people hovering over the guardians I attacked on the floor. Lissa is over by the guardian that challenged me in the first place, healing him. "Did I hurt anyone?" Dimitri shakes his head.

"Nothing that Lissa can't heal. Are you hurt?" Am I hurt? That's a good question. During the whole thing, I don't remember feeling any pain. I look over myself quickly and then I lift my hands in front of me and gasp. My knuckles are all bloody and swollen. "Oh Roza." He gently takes my hands and looks them over. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple knuckes are broken by the way they look. Lissa is busy with someone so Peter comes over to see if he can help. He's been working with Lissa as much as he can and has managed to make a flower bloom. I don't think he can totally heal my hands, but what the hell. He needs the practice. He takes my hands in his and I start to feel the familiar hot, cold, hot sensation I feel when Lissa heals me, though not as stongly. He stops right before he collapses, as it took a lot out of him. I look down and the bones look better and the swelling has gone down, but the cuts are still there.

"Not bad Peter. You need to go rest now. You can finish the job later when you get your strength back, okay." He smiles and nods and goes over the bleachers to sit down. Mia goes over to him with a bottle of water for him to drink and a big smile on her face. Apparently she's impressed by what he did.

_"Hey Little Dhampir. We sure kicked some ass, didn't we?" _Adrian sounds so weak. He must still have some darkness that didn't get sent to me. I know I need to get to him quick before we have another episode of what just happened.

"Yeah, Adrian. We sure did. I'm coming to help you. Try to relax until I get there. Dimitri, get Lissa over here. I need her to put me to sleep." He knows what I need to do and I can tell by the look in his eyes he isn't too happy about it, but calls Lissa over anyway. She immediately compells me to sleep and I find myself in his grandmother's garden. I see him sitting on the ground with his knees hugged to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs. He is rocking back and forth humming some song I don't know. I drop to my knees next to him and pull him into a strong embrace. Apparently he didn't even realize I was there because as soon as I touched him he jumped. He tries to get away until he sees me. He wraps his arms around me and holds on tight. He starts kissing along my neck and collarbone. I pull away and look into his eyes. They are no longer green, but black. Not good. He leans close and crushes his lips to mine. Our lips move in synch as the kiss gets more intense. He slides his tongue into my mouth and brushes it against mine. I hear him moan as he deepens the kiss and pushes me back onto the grass and lay on top of me. His kissing becomes fierce with a hunger I never felt from him before. It scares me a little. I guess with darkness, he's a lover where I'm a fighter. It seems he isn't releasing the darkness but letting it fuel his passion and need. Part of me wants to let him because it feels so good. Everywhere he touches me feels like fire. It feels wonderful. But I know this isn't right. This isn't him, it's the darkness. I pull away and push him over so I'm now on top. This doesn't stop him though. His hands move to my waist, caressing my skin as they slowly make their way down under the band of my pants and stopping to play on my backside. He kisses along my jaw and down my neck, where he grazes his fangs along my skin and I freeze. I feel like someone threw ice water on me. I pull myself away just before he can sink his teeth in. This isn't him. Adrian would never do that to me. I look him in the eyes and they are so dark. He grabs for me and tries to pull me down to him again, but I'm too strong for him. I roll him over so he is laying face down in the grass and put all my weight on top off him. He struggles and starts cussing at me, but I ignore it.

"Adrian, this isn't you. You need to relax. I love you Adrian. You need to come back to me. This isn't you." I whisper in his ear. I figure that it works for me when Dimitri does it, hopefully it will work on Adrian too. I keep whispering in his ear softly and calmly. Eventually I feel him relax underneath me and he stops yelling like a drunken sailor. When I think he is finally alright, I roll him back over and see his beautiful green eyes again. He looks at me and realization sweeps over him, then a look of horror.

"Oh God Rose. I didn't mean it. I would never bite you like that. I promise. Please forgive me." I smile down at him.

"I know Adrian. That was close though. We shouldn't use Spirit like that again unless it's an emergency, okay? It's too risky." He lets out a big breath and nods while running a hand through his hair.

"You're right. I would rather ravish you without putting you in such danger." He says playfully as he waggle his eyebrows up and down. I give him a slap on the arm and smile at him.

"What am I going to do with you?" Yeah, that's definitely the wrong question to ask Adrian right now.

"I have lots of ideas. Let's start at the top, okay?" he says as he pulls me closer to him and kisses me again. Why do I let myself get caught up in his kisses? Because he's a great kisser, that's why. I pull away after a few minutes.

"I thought you said you were going to back off." I remind him.

"Yeah, well I lied." he says as he pulls me down to his lips again. God, I'm so weak. I brake away again and get off of him and reach my hand down to help him stand up too. He gets a serious look on his face and pulls my to his body and holds me.

"Thanks for coming to help me." he whispers. I squeeze him a little tighter.

"Anytime."

**Dimitri POV**

Rose is so anxious to see what Spirit can do to help her fight, she practically flew around the room changing her clothes. I wouldn't have minded helping her out of her clothes, but that will have to wait until later. I told her I would be right behind her before she kissed me quickly and darted out of the room, heading for the Court's gym. According to the conversation with Adrian last night, working with Spirit can cause some dangerous side effects for Rose. I hope she takes this whole experiment slowly, but knowing her she'll jump in with both feet. I need reinforcements. I go to Lissa first. I figure that if anyone gets hurt, she can heal any injuries and if it gets too out of hand, she can compell Rose to stop. I also get the other guardians to help if I need to restrain her. I really have no idea what to expect. Thankfully, Jacob isn't too happy with Rose and me right now, so he chooses to stay and sleep instead. Fine with me.

As we head down to the gym, we see a bunch of guardians running inside, yelling 'Stop her'. My heart drops in my chest as I fear Rose is in trouble. We all start running as fast as we can to see what's going on. I push through a few onlookers to find Rose. As I look around the room I see people laying on the floor. Some are groaning and trying to move around while a few aren't moving at all. Lissa finally catches up and takes in the scene. She immediately runs over to one of the men on the far side of the gym and puts her hands on his head. She has a smile on her face as she heals his wound. He starts to stir and opens his eyes. I look around the room again. Where is she? Then I hear the familiar grunts she makes when she is fighting. I see her pummeling a poor defenseless punching bag, and it is loosing. The thing looks like it is about to fall apart. I run up to her and look into her eyes. They are so dark. Darker than usual and not at all the eyes I fell in love with. Darkness has definitley taken over. She doesn't even seem to notice me standing there as she continues to hit and punch with amazing strength and quickness. Well, Spirit does amp up her fighting skills like they hoped. She moves around the bag as she punches it so now I am standing behind her.

"Roza." I say. She doesn't acknowledge me at all. I need to get her attention and snap her out of this spell. "Roza, stop!" I yell. That seems to get through to her because she stops her assult and drops her arms, but she is shaking violently. God this is scaring the shit out of me. I wrap my arms around her and hold on tight as she starts to struggle to get free. I know if I let her go she will end up hurting herself or someone else again. I need to get through to her. I lean down close to ear and start to speak softly and calmly. "It's okay, Roza. Please come back to me. This isn't you. Come back to me Roza." I keep repeating these words over and over, praying that somewhere inside this body, she hears me. After a few moments, I feel her calming down. After she stops shaking and her breathing seems to regulate, I release my hold on her. I need to make sure she is back so I turn her around so I can see her eyes. Brown and beautiful as ever. She's back. I lean in and gently kiss her lips, so relieved it's over. "Are you alright now, Roza?"

"Yeah, I think so." she says as she surveys the room and sees the aftermath of what she did. "Did I hurt anyone?"

"Nothing that Lissa can't heal. Are you hurt?" She seems taken aback by my question and then looks over her body. She finally holds up her hands and we both gasp. They look horrible, all bloody and swollen. "Oh Roza." It kills me to see her in pain. I take her hands in mine and gently inspect them. It looks like she may have broken a couple knuckles. I'm surprised the pain she was in from these injuries didn't stop her. I see Lissa is still busy with another guardian, so I motion Peter over to us. I know he isn't anywhere near as good at healing as Lissa, but maybe he can take some of the pain away until Lissa is available. He takes her hands and I can see the swelling start to go down. I look at his face and he looks like he is about to pass out so I pull his hands away before he collapses. Her hands still look beat up, but they don't look broken anymore. This Spirit magic is truely amazing.

"Not bad Peter. You need to go rest now. You can finish the job later when you get your strength back, okay." Rose tells him. She watches him go over to the bleachers to sit down. "Yeah, Adrian. We sure did. I'm coming to help you. Try to relax until I get there." she says out of nowhere. She then turns her attention to me. "Dimitri, get Lissa over here. I need her to put me to sleep." Great, she needs to help Adrian get rid of the darkness too. I don't like it, but he said it could spill over to her and be dangerous. I wonder if that is what happened here earlier. If it did, then she better hurry up and help him. I call Lissa over to us and she quickly compells Rose to sleep. I look around to make sure no one is paying any attention to us because using compulsion is forbidden and I don't want Lissa getting into trouble. I carry my sleeping Rose back to our room and gently lay her down on our bed. I crawl in next to her and hold her in my arms. I look at her beautiful, peaceful face as she sleeps. I hate that she has to deal with so much crap from the bonds she has. Of course, out of everyone I ever met, she is the strongest person I know. Maybe that's why she was chosen to carry such a burden. I'm just glad that I can help her in any way I can. I would do anything for my Roza. I feel sleep start to take over as I lay there thinking how much I love this angel in my arms.

**Spririt can be a real bitch, huh? Well, review and let me know what you think. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own vampire academy or its wonderful characters. **

**Rose POV**

I try to open my eyes as I feel myself waking up, but it feels like my eyelids have been fused together. My whole body aches like I have been in one position for days. I turn my head to bury my face in my pillow when I feel wetness touch my cheek. Why is my pillow all wet? I reach my hand up and trace my fingers along the pillowcase by my mouth where it's wet. Because I drooled all over it, that's why. Nice. I hope Dimitri doesn't notice. I slowly manage to pry my eyes open and see a big empty space where my love should be. I reach over and touch the pillow making sure I'm not seeing things. Did I think he would be invisible? I laugh at myself as I sit up in the bed and stretch all the stiffness out of my body. I look over at the clock to see how long I've been asleep. That can't be right. I've only been asleep for a few hours. Wow, that was some power nap. I drag myself out of bed and shuffle over to the bathroom. I need a nice hot shower. I was hoping Dimitri would be in there, but he's not. I wonder where he could be? Oh well, I'll figure that out later. I turn on the water and get it nice and hot. I get in and let the water cascade over me, taking the rest of the aches and stiffness down the drain with it. Ahhh. Whoever invented this super powered massaging shower head should have his likeness carved in stone and worshipped in small countries. It feels so good I don't ever want to get out. I know I've been in too long when I notice that my fingers and toes have pruned. Time to get out and face then world.

I walk out into the room with a towel around me to get some clothes, when I notice Dimitri sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at me appreciatively. I love it when he looks at me like I'm the sexiest woman on the planet. I think I'll give him a little show. I slowly unwrap the towel and let it fall to the floor. I pick out my sexiest panties and bra set and put them on while bending and stretching in a way to showcase my bodies assets in the best way possible. I hear him growl in his throat as he never takes his eyes of me. I slip my favorite pair of jeans on, you know the ones that make my butt look fabulous, nice and slowly. Finally, I grab a vneck shirt that shows off just enough cleavage. I put it on and walk over and stand in front of a now very flustered Dimitri.

"That was a waste of time Roza." he says in a low husky voice as he puts his hands on my hips and pulls me close to him.

"How so?" I ask playing dumb.

"Because now I have to rip these off and udo everything you just did." he says as he starts running his hands up along my torso, taking my top with it. He pulls it off and starts kissing me along the top of my breasts, just above my bra. He starts to undo my pants when there is a knock at the door. He sighs and mutters something in Russian as he lets his head fall and rest on my chest. Poor guy.

"Come in." I call automatically. Lissa, Rosa Ann, Katie and Mia all walk into the room and start giggling.

"Are we interupting anything?" Rose Ann asks while pointing to my shirt on the floor next to me. I forgot I was standing in front of Dimitri in just my bra and pants on, his hands resting on my hips. At least none of the guys are here.

"You are actually. Can you come back in say, an hour?" I asked with a big smile on my face. Lissa rolls her eyes at me and picks up my shirt and hands it to me.

"I don't think so Rose. You've been sleeping for over twenty-four hours and we have a lot of work to do. So say goodbye to loverboy here and lets go." Man, she can be bossy when she wants to be. Wait, I've been sleeping for a whole day?

"Why didn't anyone wake me up sooner?" I look at Dimitri since he would be the logical one to get me out of bed.

"After what you did yesterday, your body needed rest. Oh and you aren't allowed to use the training facilities alone anymore. If you want to train, you need to have one of us with you. Well a guardian at least, in case you need to be restrained." He says sheepishly, waiting for my outburst.

"What?! I need a babysitter? You've got to be kidding." I huff.

"It's for everyone's safety. You did a lot of damage. Until you get a better handle on using Spirit when you fight, we need to take precautions. You don't want to seriously hurt anyone, do you?" I had to think about that a second. That stupid guardian who ran his mouth off to me deserved what he got. I found out while talking to Adrian in my dream last night that the guardian that pissed me off is Guardian Bubbles. Yeah, I just about wet myself when I found out too. I guess I was thinking too long because I was brought back to reality when Dimitri spoke again.

"Rose, we don't want to hurt anyone." It was more like a command than a statement. He's right. Just because that guy is a first class asshole, doesn't mean I should hurt him. Much.

"Fine, whatever." I put my shirt back on and put on some shoes. Mia puts her arm through mine and leads me out the door, the other girls walking behind.

"Where are we going?" As soon as the question came out of my mouth, my stomach growled letting me and everyone within earshot know what my top priority should be. We all laughed.

"I guess the first order of business is to feed you. It's about time for dinner anyway. Let's go to the diner downstairs." Rose Ann said.

"Should I call the guys to meet us?" Katie asked, pulling out her cell phone.

"No no. We need some time to do some girl bonding. We can't talk about the men if they're there." I tell them. I really want to find out about their love lives and I know they won't open up with the guys around. We go sit in a booth and order our food. Rose Ann orders for me since she doesn't trust that I won't order the greasiest thing on the menu, so I end up with grilled chicken and a salad. We all start eating and I decide to jump right in with my questions.

"So Rose Ann, how are things between you and Alex? Have you seen the birthmark yet?" I guess she wasn't expecting that because she started to almost choke on her food. The other girls look over to her waiting for her answer.

"Umm, that's kinda personal, isn't it?" We all look at each other and then back to her and shake our heads.

"Spill it, girlfriend. We need details. Haven't you ever girl talked before?" I ask. I'm just getting to know my sister so I don't know who she used to unload to.

"Sort of, but I never had any really close girl friends to talk to. Daniel was my best friend and he never wanted to know so much about my love life." I nod my head and wait for her to continue. "Well, we've kissed and stuff but we haven't gotten to clothing removal yet. Haven't really had the opportunity, plus, I like going slow. It let's us get to know each other better. He seems to like it that way too." Yeah, that sounds like Alex. He really is a good guy. I'm glad they seem to make each other happy. We all smile and nod all thinking the same thing. I look over to Katie and as soon as I make eye contact, she looks away trying to avoid attention. She must have something to hide. I don't release my gaze, staring at her until she cracks under the pressure. Finally she puts her fork down and looks at me.

"What Rose?" she asks a little annoyed. I give her my innocent look.

"I was just wondering if you were seeing anyone special. Weren't you seeing Tim at school?" I remember her telling me she had a crush on him and I think I saw them alone a couple times, but I'm not positive.

"Sort of. We hung out together but nothing ever came of it. Now he's in Italy with his Moroi." She said while shrugging.

"Well, maybe you'll meet somebody here. There are lots of good looking guardians around." Lissa said while looking around the restaurant. We all looked too and she was right. The ratio of male to female gaudians is about five to one. Great odds if you were a girl. And for some wonderful reason, I've never come acrossed an ugle dhampir. We sat there for a few minutes more admiring the view when Adrian brought me back to reality.

_"Little Dhampir, aren't Dimitri and I enough for you?"_

_"I'm just looking, you know, for Katie." _

_"Sure you are." _

_"Okay. This is girl time, so unless you have something you need to tell me about your gender, you don't qualify. So go." _I don't want any spies at our little party here.

_"Fine I'll go hide, but you need to make it up to me tonight." _I'm not really sure I want to know what he had in mind, but I'll deal with that later. I look over to Katie again and I see her thinking about something and then start to blush. Oh I know that look. There's someone she likes.

"Who is he? The guy that's making you turn all red just thinking about him." I ask eager to know.

"Well...you have to promise not to say anything to him in case he doesn't feel the same way. I'd just die if he started feeling ackward around me because of my stupid crush." Okay now I've got to know.

"Now you've got to tell us. Is it one of our guys?" Mia asks a little nervously.

"Yeah...it's... Eddie." Lissa and I squeeled so loud that the whole diner went silent and everyone turned to stare at us. Eddie is like a brother to us and we want nothing more than his happiness.

"Oh my god. That is so perfect. Since he's my guardian and you're Peter's guardian, we'll have to get together just the four of us so we can work on Spirit. Well, Peter and I can do that while you and Eddie can talk and get to know each other better. Oh this will be so much fun." Lissa spit out so fast I had to really concentrate to catch it all. The excitement I'm getting from Lissa through our bond was enough to knock me over. She loved playing match maker.

Now for Mia. She's the one I really wanted to know about. Apparently I wasn't the only one because Katie got to her first.

"So what's the deal with you and Jacob? You guys were pretty chummy after the award ceremony last month. And then on the flight over here you looked pretty comfy next to him. I know he's cute and all, but you have talked with him right?" She seems about as confused as I am about Jacob's appeal.

"Yes, I know his personality is a bit abrasive, but..." she starts to blush, "he's a really good kisser. I mean_ really _good." I get a flash in my mind of kissing Jacob and my stomach flips.

"I think I just threw up a little."

"So, it's just a physical thing, right?" Rose Ann asks. Mia starts to look a little annoyed.

"I don't know. I haven't known him that long. Maybe it will become more." she defends herself. We all just stare at her eyes wide and jaws to the floor.

"Mia, just keep your options open, okay. If you like seeing Jacob," I had to stop and swallow down the bile rising in my throat, "then fine, but don't close yourself off. You could miss out on a really great guy if you're don't keep your eyes open." She looks over at me suspiciously, probably knowing I'm up to something but not willing to ask.

"Okay Rose. I won't be exclusive with Jacob, if that makes you feel better." Oh she has no idea. Now I need to get operation Get Mia Together With Peter Before She Gets Too Serious With That Butt Munch Jacob started. I don't want to scare her off so I need to be sly about it. Best move on to another topic.

"So, now that we got all that straightened out, let's talk business." I turn to Lissa."Were you able to locate Ezekeil's house yet?" Lissa offered to do some research to see if we could possibly find out where his hide out was without getting ourselves in danger.

"No not yet. We don't know how close he is to Court and I doubt the deed is in his name. But we'll keep looking." This is gonna take forever this way.

"You do that and maybe some of us can go for a walk like last time and see if we can get more information." I can feel Lissa worry through the bond but she puts on a brave face.

"That could work. It's probably too late tonight, but in the morning you'll have better luck." She says. She's right, I know, but I hate having to wait that long. We decide to leave and get back to the guys before they think we got in some sort of trouble. As we're walking out the door, Guardian Bubbles, hehe, passes us and glares right at me. I can't help but have a little fun at his expense. I give him my best smile.

"Hey Bubbles, if I would've known you were as delicate as your name, I never would've agreed to fight. Don't want to pop one of the Queen's best now do we?" I taunt. He looks so pissed at me right now I can almost see smoke coming out his ears. I hear some of the others guardians that are sitting nearby, eating their dinner, start to laugh. Apparently I hurt his precious male ego and he decides to get in my face, and I mean literally, in my face. His nose was barely touching mine.

"You got lucky." he snarled. Okay, despite his name, he looks extrememly intimidating, especailly this close up, and is scaring me a little, but I can't back down now.

_"Adrian, we have a situation and I'm going to need some Spirit, just not as much as last time." _

_"Ten-four Little Dhampir."_

"You want to go for round two? Right now?" I say as menacingly as I can. It doesn't match his tone, but hopefully it gets the point across. He gives a little snort and looks around to the audience we have gathered.

"I don't want to embarrass you." he chuckles. Sure you don't.

"Oh I won't be the one embarrassed. I'll be the one standing over your broken body doing me little victory dance." I say as I put my hands up and shake my hips. I get a couple whistles for that move.

"You need to grow up!" he yelled, spitting on me a little.

"And you need to get out of my face!" I yell back. He is really starting to piss me off now. I can feel Spirit flowing to my muscles now and I wait for him to make the first move. Instead he backs off with a smirk on his face.

"Whatever." he says as he starts to turn around to walk off. Rose Ann grabs my arm and pulls me around to leave. Through the refection of the glass in the picture on the wall, I see him coming at my back with his fist in the air. I quickly spin around, grab his wrist and twist it around so it is now behind his back. I then push him over a table, knocking off some plates of food that some guardians were eating. They all stand up pushing their chairs over to get out of the way. I have to actually jump on his back, still holding onto his wrist, to keep him down. I lean down to talk into his ear.

"What were you saying about embarrassing me?" I ask sweetly, knowing it will set him off again. I was right because with his free hand he pushes himself back up and I fall off his back. He turns around to face me and gets into attack mode. I mirror him, waiting for him to go first. We start to circle each other and I can feel the anxiety from Lissa, which just fuels me more. "You waiting for an engraved invitation or you gonna fight, you wuss?" I can be a real bitch sometimes. He lunges at me with his right hook which I duck under and hit him hard to the ribs. I think I might have broken a couple when I hear a very distict crunch. Oops. He falls to the floor clutching his side. Lissa runs over to him immediately while a few of the guardians that were watching come over and grab my arms and pull me back. I didn't put up a fight and let them restrain me. She heals his ribs and he gets up and thanks her. He comes walking up to me too close. All this Spirit in me seems to make me go on alert and I feel like he is going to attack me again, so I use the two guardians holding my arms as leverage as I kick and hit him right in the nose. I wouldn't be surprised if his nose was broken by all the blood pouring out of it.

Just then, Dimitri and the rest of the guys come running in. They look around and see me being held back with a bleeding idiot in front of me. Dimitri and Alex run over to me and free me from my captors.

"We'll take her from here. Thanks." Dimitri says to the two guardians. He then turns to the girls to talk to them. "Why didn't you stop her? You know she can lose control and hurt someone." Okay, I'm right here. You don't need to talk about me like I'm a wild dog. Luckily Rose Ann comes to my rescue.

"He's the one that started it. If she backs down to every asshole that challenges her, no one will take her seriously. She only defended herself." she yells at Dimitri. He looks over to the others and they all nod in agreement. We start walking back to our rooms when we're stopped by some guardians on duty. Great. They're probably here to arrest me for fighting.

"There is something at the front gate you need to see." One of them says to me and Dimitri. We all follow them to the gate to see what all the hubbub is about. "A car sped by and threw this out the window. It's addressed to you." He hands me a long white box with an envelope taped to the top with my name on it.

"Did you get a license plate number on the car?" Lissa asks. The guardians nods and hands her a piece of paper with plate numbers on it. Hopefully that will help us find Ezekiel or Adrian. I open the card to read:

_Rose_

_If you want him, you'll have to go through me. He told me your blood tasted like no other. I can't wait to find out myself. I'm sure you'll find me soon. I'll be waiting._

_Ezekiel_

I opened the box to find a dozen dead roses. He sure knows how to make a girl feel special.

**My daughter named Guardian Bubbles after a character from the movie Lilo and Stitch. Review and let me know what you thought of the chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. You're the best!  
I dont own Vampire Academy.  
Rose POV**

**  
**When we made it back to our rooms, Lissa went straight to her computer and went to work. She's tracing the plate number from the car that left the dead flowers from Ezekiel. The Queen has pulled some strings and got us access to information not usually available to the general public. The address that the car is registered under is in Stroudsburg in the Pocono Mountains, not too far away from here. The Poconos is really popular for tourists, especially this time of year. That's probably a big draw for Strigoi. Attacking and killing stupid hikers can be easily blamed on the wild animals that also make the mountains their home.

"Well, I guess we should go check it out. We should leave now, that way by the time we get there, the sun will be up. Safety first." I told everyone.

"That sounds good, but I don't think we all need to go. It's just a scouting mission anyways." Dimitri added. He has a point. With my ability to sense Strigoi nearby, I can easily tell find the house when we get near, like I did when Adrian was first taken.

"Okay, so you and me, and who else?" I ask.

"I think we could use either Christian or Jacob. Just in case. This could all be a trap. He wants us to find him. Why else would he risk exposure just to send you some dead roses." Dimitri says. I agree. It's too easy.

"Why don't we take both of them then, and their guardians. Rose Ann and Alex." He nods at that. Rose Ann seems to like the idea too, since she'll be with Alex. I turn to see Mia a little disappointed she isn't coming along. Time to put my plan in action. "Hey Mia, why don't you and Peter get in a little training before bed. I think things are going to get exciting here real quick and we need everyone in top form." She looks over to Peter and smiles.

"Sure thing, Rose. You up for it Peter?" The look on his face is priceless. He looked a bit shocked. He managed to get out an 'uh huh'. I walk over to him and give him a little nudge.

"Don't worry. Mia will take good care of you." He looks at me like I'm up to something, which I am. He just doesn't know it.  
　  
　  
The six of us climb into one of the Courts SUV and take off for Stroudsburg. Dimitri drives while I sit shotgun. I look over my shoulder to see Alex and Rose Ann holding hands and her head on his shoulder. They look so cute together. She sees me looking at her and I give her a wink. Christian and Jacob are in the last seat, trying to get some rest. I look over to Dimitri in the driver seat and smile. He looks so good sitting there. I wish we weren't interupted earlier after I woke up. I start imagining all the things I was planning on doing to him before the girls found me. He's sees me staring at him, looks at me and smiles that wonderful smile that melts my heart.

"What are you thinking about Roza?" he asks.

"I'd rather show you, but I don't think it would be the best thing to do considering where we are." I waggle my eyebrows up and down and lean over kiss his cheek as he chuckles lightly.

"Seriously, Rose, is sex all you think about? Even I have hobbies." Jacob complains.

"I don't think about sex all the time. When I'm around you, I think about banging my head against a wall." I stick my tongue at him and he does the same before closing his eyes and leaning his head back to get some rest.

Dimitri grabs my hand and holds it tight while he continues driving. After about an hour , we finally get to the house the car's registration lead us to. It is in the woods, about half a mile away from any neighbor and surrounded by tall trees. The trees shade the house and area around it with heavy shade. Perfect place for Strigoi to call home. Immediately when we start driving up the driveway, my nausea starts up.

"There are definitely Strigoi here." I tell them as I look out the window to the surrounding trees to see if there is any danger lurking nearby. The sun has only been up for about thirty minutes, but with all the shade, no sunshine was getting through. We drive up close to the house and decide to case the place and then come back this evening before the sun sets.

"_Adrian, are you ready? I might need Spririt if any Strigoi show up?"_

_  
"I'm always here for you Little Dhampir. Just be careful." _Aren't I always?

We climb out of the car and start walking around the outer perimiter first. I notice a couple trails that go through the forest, to where I'm not sure. We get closer to the house and I try to peak in a window, but there are heavy curtains covering them so I can't see inside. It would be nice to see how many are in there. It's a pretty big house, two stories. As we are getting back into the car, I look up to one of the upstairs windows and see someone watching us. It looks like a girl with long blond hair. She held up one finger as if to tell me to wait a minute and then disappears back into the room. A moment later, she opens the window and throws something out. Then she closes the window and disappears again. I run over to retrieve what she dropped. It's a book, Dracula. How fitting. I open it and on the title page a note is written.

_There are fifteen, including me. He knows you're here. You owe me one_.

Is 'he' Ezekiel or Adrian? I show Dimitri the note and he quitely ponders it. He pulls me toward the car and we all get in and take off. No one says anything until we get on the highway. The book has been passed around and inspected for any other clues. Nope, just the first page.

"So, do you think we can trust this girl?" Christian is the first to break the silence.

"Normally I would say hell no, she's Strigoi. But, I don't know, I have a feeling that she's telling the truth. She might have selfish motives if she expects a favor in return, but what else do we have." I tell him. We hurry back to Court to meet the others and plan our attack. When we get there, the others are asleep. We decide to let them sleep and Chistian, Jacob, Rose Ann and Alex go rest too. Dimitri and I stay up to get things ready. Dimitri thinks we need some more guardians to come with us, and I don't want to argue that with Spirit I can handle it, so I reluctantly agree.

The Queen grants us four guardians to come with us and of course with my luck, my least favorite is among them. Guardian Bubbles. He doesn't look any happier about this than I do. I think we are both being punished for the little incident at the diner last night. We take three SUVs and start on our way. Thankfully, Bubbles is in another car.

We get to the house again, but instead of driving up the driveway, we park on the street. We spread out and try to encircle the house as best we can. The sun is still up but with all the shade, it doesn't really matter. Adrian has sent Spririt to me and I am rarin' to go. We are about halfway up the driveway when I get an increase in the nausea, letting me know there are Strigoi really close. I look up in the tree just in time to see one jump in front of me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Chosen One come to take us all down. You're even prettier than Adrian said, but I doubt you're as deadly." he taunts. So he knows Adrian. That's a great sign.

"Is Adrian here? I would love to pay him a little visit." I ask him politely. It worked with Bob so I figure I'd try it again.

"You're going to have to get past me first, beautiful." He immediately lunged at me barely hit me. Being Strigoi makes him fast and strong, but with Spririt, I am just as fast and equally strong. We knock each other around for a minute when he makes a mistake and leaves his chest open just long enough for me to send my stake flying down into his heart. He screams out and then goes silent as I watch the light go out in his eyes. As soon as he is dead, another five Strigoi jump out of the trees and start toward me and the other guardians. Christian and Jacob do their jobs and light them on fire enough to cause them to panick. This gives the guardians there opportuntiy to stake them.

"Okay, that's six down, and according to the mystery girl that leaves nine more. Hopefully Adrian is among them." I tell Dimitri. I hear Bubbles snort when I mentioned Adrian, which worries me.

"Ivashkov is not to be killed. Restrain him, but do not kill him. We need him alive." I order. The other three guardians nod but Bubbles roll his eyes. I really don't like this guy. I walk up to him and get in his face. "Do you have a problem with that order?" I ask with as much authority I can muster. He grits his teeth and scowls.

"No problem." he says. We look around and don't see anymore Strigoi around. They must be inside. We split into two groups, one in front and one in back. Each team has a fire user. Christian is with me as is Dimitri.

"Are we gonna break the door down and go in with brute force?" Christian asks. That's what we normally do, but I think Ezekiel will respond better to something else. So I go right up to the door and knock.

"Rose, what the hell are you doing?" Dimitri whisper yells at me.

"What? In a way he invited us over. Might as well be polite guests." I knock again and the door opens. It's the girl from the window and she has a very amused look on her face. I figure being direct is my best option. "Hi there. Can Adrian come out to play?" She stares at me like I lost my marbles but retreats back into the house. Dimitri wants to storm in now that the door is open, but I shake my head at him. The door opens again and instead of Adrian, Ezekiel stands before me.

"Rose, you got my message. How good of you to come. I see you got through my security alright." he says as he looks at the dead bodies on the ground. I shrug.

"You need to hire better help. That was way too easy." I tell him. He laughs at my little joke. He opens the door wide and motion with his hand, inviting me in. Does he think I'm stupid?

"That's real nice and all, but I think my chances of staying alive are better out here. Why don't you and Adrian come outside with us?" I tell him. He shakes his head and laughs again. Just as he was about to say something, I hear someone walking up behind him.

"Who the hell is unlucky enough to come knocking on our door?" It's Strigoi Adrian. He looks surprised to see me. "Little Dhampir, come back for another kiss? I figured you were a little kinky, but I never would have thought you would be into Strigoi loving. Whatever floats your boat." he says with a smirk while leaning on the door frame. He looks up and sees the others behind me and looks puzzled. "What's going on?" he asks Ezekiel. Apparrently, he was left out. I look over at Ezekiel with raised eyebrows. I still can't do that cool one eyebrow thing, but I try.

"You didn't tell Adrian that you lead us here so we could find him?" I direct to Ezekiel. I then turn to face Adrian. "Adrian, why don't you come out here and talk with me, like old times. I promise not to hurt you."

"I can't make you such a promise Little Dhampir. I want very much to awaken you and have you by my side forever, but I don't think your boyfriend there will take to kindly to my biting your neck and drinking your delicious blood." He has a look in his eyes as he is saying this that is scaring the hell out of me. That must be bloodlust. I start backing away slowly toward Dimitri. It looks like Adrian is about to leap out of the door to come after me when Ezekiel swings his arm and backhands Adrian into the house.

"No! She is mine, and she will not be awakened. She is more use to me as a victim. Can you imagine the strength I'll gain by taking the life of the Chosen One? It will be amazing." He turns to look at me and he has the same bloodlust in his eyes. Oh shit! I back away even more, but ready for an attack. He walks out slowly, never taking his eyes off me. Behind him there are five Strigoi backing him up. When they are all outside of the house I signal to Christian and he lights them up. Ezekeil, being so old, is much faster than the average Strigoi. He dodges the flames and runs at me and grabs me by the neck and rams me into a tree across from the house. Oh God, that hurt. Lissa screams for Dimitri to help me, but he has his hands full fighting. The group at the back of the house comes running to the front to help.

Ezekeil has me pinned against the tree and is leaning in to bite my neck.

_"Fight Rose! Don't let him win. Fight!" _Adrian is screaming in my head.

I reach my hand up and dig my nails into his cheek as I kick hard into his groin. He wasn't expecting my new strength and is stunned. That gives me the chance to push him away. I swing my stake at his heart but he blocks it. He comes at me again but I jump to one side and knee him in the gut. He wasn't expecting my quickness either. That must have pissed him off because he growled so loud, it gave me shivers. We start circling each other. I try to fake him out by moving to the right but quickly change directions and strike to the left. Yeah, it didn't work to well because I land on my ass when he anticipated my move. I get up and then I hear that Strigoi girl scream his name.

"He left." is all she said. That was enough for Ezekiel to hesitate and for me to find my mark. I slammed my stake right into his heart. I stay right there and watch him die. I pull my stake out and turn to see the girl staring wide eyed at his dead body. "Thank you." she whispers to me. I see Bubbles come running up behind her with his stake raised. I grab her arm and pull her behind me.

"No! Leave her be." I yell. He stops in his tracks and looks like he is about to bust.

"Are you insane? She's Strigoi. She works for him. You know, the guy that wanted to kill you." he yells.

"She helped me. Now I am helping her. She lives, for now." I turn around and face her."We won't kill you now, but if we come across you again, I can't promise your safety." She nods. "Who were you talking about when you said 'he left'?

"Adrian took off through the back of the house when those guardians came to the front to help you. " Shit! Why does he always get away?

"I don't suppose you might know where he would go?" I ask. She thinks for a second.

"There are two possibilities. He could be going to Ezekiel's other house in Florida, or he could go to see his rival in Russia. I don't know her name, but she runs a big operation somewhere in Siberia."

"Thanks..."

"Daphne." she says.

"Daphne can I ask you why you're so willing to help me?" she smirks and answers.

"Because when you finally get ahold of Ivashkov, I want you to make him suffer before you kill him. That bastard awakened me, used me and then discarded me after telling me he loved me. Unfortunatly, Ezekiel wouldn't let me leave, claiming me for himself." she said and then spit on his body. I like her. "If I find out where he is, I'll let you know." She smiled at me and then quick as the wind, she took off.

"I can't believe you let her live. How many people are going to die at her hand because of you." Bubbles spat at me. This guy is really getting on my last nerve.

"We now have a Strigoi spy working for us. Hopefully with her information we can kill more Strigoi than just her." I scream at him. I can feel myself being taken over by the darkness from all the Spirit we used fighting. My whole body starts to tremble and my breathing becomes labored. Bubbles backs away, remembering what happened to him last time. But Dimitri, bless his heart, comes up to me and puts his arms around me and holds on tight. I start to struggle but he never eases his grip while whispering soothing words in my ear. I close my eyes and let his voice calm me down and I feel the darkness fade away. When he feels me relax, he eases up and looks my in the eyes.

"All better now, Roza?" he asks. I nod my head and he leans down and kisses me gently. We look around and see that we have killed twelve Strigoi. That means three escaped, Adrian, Daphne and one other. Someone called the alchemist to come clean up the mess and we got back in the cars and head back to Court. Alex drives so Dimitri can stay in the back with me. It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep. When I do, I find myself in Adrian's old room back at the academy. I remember how the darkness effects him and I ready myself for his attack. I look over and see him standing in the doorway to his bedroom dressed in his black silk boxers and nothing else.

"I've been waiting for you Little Dhampir." he says seductively. I see the lust in his eyes as he looks me up and down. I look down to see what I'm wearing and it is a very revealing negligee. I roll my eyes and put my hands on my hips as I look at him.

"Really, Adrian? I'm surprised you bothered with clothes at all." he starts walking toward me, hunger in his eyes. I go and pull him into a hug like Dimitri did to me but he won't stop kissing my neck and touching my ass. Okay this isn't going to work. I decide to lead him to the bedroom and knock him onto the bed. He thinks it's foreplay but I know better. I crawl on the bed and hover over him. I then grab him and flip him over so he is laying on his stomach and pin his hands behind his back. I put all my body weight on him as he begins to struggle. I whisper soothing words into his ear, trying to calm him down. It takes longer to get him back to his old self than it did me because he keeps trying to fake me out so I will let up and he can attack me again. Finally, he manages to release the darkness and calm down.

"I'm so sorry, Rose." he appologizes over and over.

"It's not your fault, Adrian. Now can you put me into some decent clothes?"

"I don't know. I rather like the outfit." I give him my best glare and he puts his hands up in surrender. Next thing I know I'm in flannel pajamas with yellow chicks all over it. Well, it's better than what I was wearing. We decide to watch a movie and eat popcorn on the couch. He put himself in matching jammies too.

"So it sounds like Strigoi Adrian is a lot like the Adrian you used to be. The love 'em and leave 'em type." I laugh. He puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me a sqeeze.

"As long as you know I've changed my ways the night I met you, I'm good." he tells me. Oh Adrian, what am I gonna do with you?

**Review and tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks for reading.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. It makes my day. Enjoy this chapter.**

**As always, I don't own Vampire Academy**

**Dimitri POV**

I am slowly be awaken by a horrible noise. What the hell is that? It sounds like someone is strangling a cat. Maybe Rose knows what that is. I look over but I see that she has already gotten up. The sound is coming from the bathroom. Oh god, Rose is singing in the shower, and it's not good. I guess since she is so beautiful and one hell of a fighter, she has to have one thing she isn't the best at. Ugh, pick a key, will ya. I can't quite make out what song she is singing to because she is drowning out the radio. I'm starting to get a headache. I'll need to distract her mouth with something a little more agreeable to my ears. Hmmm. This could be fun. I climb out of bed and open the bathroom door quietly so I don't startle her. The steam she is creating hits me in the face. Man, she likes hot showers. I slowly pull the curtain away and see Rose dancing and singing, using the back scrubber as her mirophone. She is totally oblivious to her one man audience. I cringe as she tries to hit a high note. I need to stop her right away before voltures start circling the building, waiting for some poor animal to die. I step in and put my arms around her waist. She immediately jumps at my touch and spins around to see me. I hold on tight not letting her fall as I lean down to keep her mouth busy with a passionate kiss.

"Good morning, Roza" I say between her kisses. She smiles that wonderful smile that causes my heart to flutter.

"Good moring yourself, comrade." She reaches her arms around my neck and pulls me closer to her and kisses my even harder. I love when she does that. "You here to offer your back scrubbing services?" She says seductively. She has no idea.

"Among other things." Her eyes widen and she grins mischeviously. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this. For the next thirty minutes we have fun with the soap and each other. Best. Shower. Ever. We reluctantly get out knowing Rose has arranged for everyone to train together this morning, even the Moroi. She feels that each person needs to defend themselves to some extent, even Lissa. This should be interesting.

"Hey comrade, could you work with Peter today? I know Mia has been teaching him some, but he would probably feel more comfortable working with another guy. Maybe you two could get to know each other better." she asks as she is getting her workout clothes on. Why does she always wear such distracting clothing?

"Are you trying to set us up?" Why is she pushing Peter on me?

"I didn't mean it like that. He doesn't have any male role models in his life, except you guys. His dad was killed by Strigoi when he was twelve and he has no brothers. He needs someone he can talk to about guy stuff. You know, like girls, sports, cars and whatever else you guys like. I think he might have a crush on Mia. See if you can find out." She walks up to me and puts her hands on my chest and gives me those puppy dog eyes I can never say no to. "Please, for me?" No fair.

"Sure, I guess. I'll do what I can." Hopefully that will satisfy her. Peter's a good guy and all but I doubt we have anything in common. He did ask to learn to fight, though, so maybe he won't be so bad.

"What are you planning on doing with Lissa." I so can't see Lissa hitting anyone. She's more the passive aggressive type.

"First, she's going to be running laps. If we need to run, I need her to keep up so I can focus on other things." She still thinks like she's Lissa's guardian. I guess when you've already spent most of your life protecting someone, it's hard to give up. Her dedication to Lissa is one of the reasons I love her so much.

Rose and I walk into the gym and see that everyong is already there waiting for us. I guess we took longer in the shower than I thought. It was worth it, though. Of course, Jacob doesn't let our tardiness go unnoticed.

"Finally, the great warrior princess herself has decided to grace us with her presence. I hope we didn't tear you away from anything important. You're the one who thought all this was a good idea." he said while waving his arms indicating all the training equipment. "Personally, I'd rather be doing almost anything else." Man, he's a whiner. I'll let Rose work with him. I'll just end up hurting him.

"Alright everyone, first we're going to run laps. Moroi, except Jacob, run ten times around, dhampirs run twenty. Jacob you'll run fifteen but you have to beat me. Dimitri will count you're laps to make sure you don't cheat." She says as she glares at him. He just smiles back at her.

"And what happens if I don't beat you?" With that cocky look on his face, you'd think he already won. What an idiot. Even with a five lap disadvantage, Rose will smoke him.

"If you can't beat me, then you and I will spar, and I won't go easy on you." I hear everyone giggling as his face pales. Better run fast, punk. Rose blows her whistle. Where did she get a whistle? Everyone takes off. I can see Jacob is sprinting, trying to stay ahead of Rose.

"You need to pace yourself Jacob, or you'll never finish." That was a mistake, because Rose just gave me a look I never want to see again. She's already a lap and a half ahead of him. Lissa is doing pretty well. Mia is with her giving her encouragement. Peter is ahead of the girls, running with Christian. I notice that Eddie is running right behind Katie and seems to be concentrating on her intensly. Hmmm. I'll have to ask him if there is something going on there. Oh god, I'm sounding just like Rose, getting in the middle of everyone's business.

The Moroi, minus Jacob, have finished their laps and are catching their breath. "One more lap Jacob. You better hurry because Rose is right on your tail." I warn him. Rose catches up to him and slaps him on the ass as she passes him.

"You're slowing down, Zeklos. Move it!" He tries to run faster but he has no energy left. Rose is waiting for him at the finish line as he collapses to the ground at her feet. His face is beet red and sweaty and his breathing is labored.

"Wa- water." he stammers. Rose smiles and takes her water bottle and pours it over his face. He doesn't even try to get out of the way, he's so tired. I help get him on his feet and walk him around to cool off. I don't need anybody dying on me. Rose Ann and Alex go to one mat and spar while Katie and Eddie go to another. I see Rose winking at Katie as she walks past them. Something is definitley going on. Rose takes Lissa, Mia and Jacob to a punching bag to teach them how to hit. I get Peter and Christian.

Christian already knows a lot. Tasha must have taught him the basics. He helps me with Peter. I must say, Peter is pretty focused and is catching on quick. He just needs more power. I lead them into the weight room to help build up his muscles. The room is separate from the rest of the gym and has a door so we can have some privacy. I notice that Alex, Eddie and Jacob have also joined us.

"I was tired of working with the chicks so I thought I'd come in and see what the men were up to." Jacob says while shutting the door behind him. I get Peter set up on the bench press and decide that now is as good a time as any to talk to him. Rose wants me to get to know him. I have no idea what to say to the kid. "So Peter, is there anyone special in your life?" Both Peter and Christian freeze and look at me like I just lost my mind. Ugh, Rose is really rubbing off on me. Christian is trying to stifle a laugh while Peter looks embarrassed. I guess that wasn't a good opening question.

"Uh, no one special. Why?" he asks. What am I supposed to tell him, 'because my fiance` would like to know'?

"I don't know. I just thought a good looking kid like yourself might have girlfriend back home." I think I hit a nerve by the look on his face.

"Nope. People pretty much ignore me. I'm considered a freak in our already freakish world." I see Christian start to get a furious look on his face. What's up with that?

"Hey, man. Don't let anyone tell you that. Be proud of who are and tell anybody that gives you any shit to go to hell." he yells. We all just stare at him after that little outburst.

"Yeah, you would know what that's like, Ozera." Eddie chimes in. Oh, that's right. Christian has been shunned his whole life because of what his parents did. Poor kid. Christian apparently didn't like Eddie`s comment because he's holding a ball of fire in his hand, glaring at him. Eddie immediately throws his hands up in surrender and backs away. "I'm on your side man. To hell with them." Christian calms down and the flame goes out. I let out a big breath I didn't even know I was holding. Man, he can be a real hot head.

"You know what, you're all freaks. Christian, your 'screw the world' attitude is why people avoid you. I don't think Peter ever even spoke to a girl until Rose showed up. Alex is always whipped when it comes to his girlfriends. Eddie, well I don't really know you that well, but I'm sure there's something off about you. And Dimitri.." I raise my eyebrow at him waiting to hear what he has to say. "You scare the hell out of me so I'll just drop it." Yeah, that's what I thought.

"Jacob, I think you're the oddest one out of all of us. You walk around naked in front of everybody and you're constantly taunting Rose knowing that she'll beat the crap out you. Do you have a death wish or something?" Alex asks. Jacob just smiles that cocky smile.

"I don't know. Teasing Rose is fun. She'll never really hurt me though. Deep down I know she likes me. All girls do, especially Mia. She can't keep her hands off me." I look over to Peter and I see him scowl toward Jacob. Maybe what Rose said is true.

"Trust me, She would beat you down without a second thought if she wasn't working on her control. One of these days, you're going to go too far and I won't stop her." I tell him.

"You need to be careful with Mia. Don't piss her off or she'll make you're life miserable." Eddie warns him. That's true. She made life hell for Rose and Lissa last year.

"Hey Eddie, you ever gonna make a move for Katie, or you just gonna stare at her ass all day." Jacob says to Eddie. He sure likes to stir up shit. Eddie blushes a bit and glares at Jacob.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Oh please, it's so obvious.

"Don't get me wrong, she's got a great body. Very drool worthy. Ask her out man. You're so uptight, you need to get laid." Jacob added. I wouldn't be surprised if he's suffered brain damage from being punched by offended women. No respect. I don't like the way he delivers his message, but he has a point.

"He's right Eddie, ask the girl out. She seems pretty nice." I tell him. The other guys nod their heads in agreement. He looks a little shocked at first that we would suggest it, but eventually, he agrees. Rose will be so proud of me. We all move to another machine and start working out again.

"Hey guys," Jacob started. "out of all our girls, who do you think has the best ass?" Well, that's obvious. Rose. She has the best everything. She's perfect.

"Rose" everyone chorused. Part of me was proud my girl won, but I don't like the idea of these guys noticing.

"Okay, now who has the best breasts?" This is a weird game, but again, Rose is tops.

"Rose." we all say again. Okay, this is gettng bothersome. I sit up from my machine and glare at all of them.

"No no no. You can't pick the same girl twice. Choose, ass or chest for Rose." Jacobs says. I guess this strange little game of his has rules. That's a hard choice, but considering the other ladies, I think Rose has the better chest.

"Chest." the guys say together. Well, that's settled. Now they can't mention her again.

"Okay, now we need to go back to nicest ass, excluding Rose." Hmm, that's a toughie. It's between the dhampirs for me. Rose will so kill me if she knew I was playing this game.

"Rose Ann." "Mia." "Katie." Rose Ann got the most votes.

"Rose Ann gets best ass then. Now best eyes." Jacobs continues. Rose has the best eyes, but I guess I'll go with Lissa.

"Lissa." everyone agrees. I see Christian smiling wide at that one.

"Now best hair." It's between Katie's strawberry blonde and Mia blonde curls. Katie won that one four to two.

"So I guess that means Mia wins for best lips. They are very nice, if I say so myself. I think after we're done here, I'll go spend some time with them." If Mia's smart, you won't get anywhere near them. I'm glad that's over. We all finish working out and start to leave quietly to see what the girls are doing. Alex goes over and opens the it and our fives girls come tumbling out and onto the floor. Apparently eavesdropping isn't beneath them. Rose stands up and dusts herself off, blushing at being caught. I can't help but chuckle looking at her. Then she says something I didn't want to hear.

**Rose POV**

I see all the guys go into the weight room and shut the door. At first I don't really pay any attention, but my curiosity gets the best of me. Rose Ann and Katie come walking over to where Lissa, Mia and I are by the punching bags. I'm trying to show Lissa how to throw a punch but she's still a little nervous about it. Mia looks around confused. "Are all the guys doing weights right now?" We all look around and nod. We all start to walk out to go get cleaned up, but an idea hits me.

"Have you ever wondered what guys talk about when they're alone with no girls around?" I get a couple 'yeahs' and I stop in my tracks. I turn around to face them and grin an evil smile. "Why don't we find out?" They all just stare at me like I lost my mind. I sigh and start walking over to the weight room where the boys are. Eventually they follow me over and quietly lean in close to the door to listen to their conversation. I know it's wrong, but I just can't help it. At first we hear Christian yelling. Man, what got his panties in a bunch? Then Eddie says something to him. Moments later it sounds like he's trying to calm Christian down again. Now Jacob is on some rant about how they're all freaks. He's one to talk. I look at Lissa when he mentions Christian's attitude and she frowns. It's kinda true though. The protective side of me doesn't like how he talks to Peter. I never thought Alex was whipped, he just knew I was always right. I almost laugh when he backs down from saying anything about Dimitri.

Alex calls Jacob out on his odd behavior. So he likes teasing me, huh? I'll have to do something about that. Mai looks pissed from the way he's talking about how she can't keep her hands off him. I don't think you're going to be getting any loving from Mia anymore. Heheheh. Now Jacob is asking Eddie about Katie. This is good. Wait, he stares at her ass? I never noticed this and by the look on Katie's face, she hasn't either. Eddie sounds a little embarrassed. Then Jacob tells him to ask her out so he can get laid. What an asshole. Poor Katie looks mortified. Then Dimitri tells him to ask her out because she's a nice girl. I can't see inside and no one says anything after that, but I hope he does ask her out. I know she wants him too. I give her a thumbs up and she blushes.

I hear them moving around and we start to back away a little so we don't get caught. But luckily, they don't open the door but move to another machine. Then I hear Jacob speaking again. Doesn't he ever shut up? It's a little hard to hear what he's saying with all the noise from the equipment. "What did he say?" Lissa asks.

"Something about who has the best stash? I guess."

"He said ass" says Katie. Well excuse me. Well the answer came out loud and clear, Rose. I can't help but smile. Then Jacob asks who has the best breasts. Again I won. I can imagine what Dimitri must think of my little victories. Oh wait, there are rules apparently. I can only win one title. From the way they all answered, I guess my chest is better than my ass. I look at the girls and blush. I feel a little cheap, now. Rose Ann gets best ass as my replacement, but it wasn't a landslide. Well she is my sister.

"Now who has the best thighs? That's rather crude don't you think?" I ask.

"He said eyes, Rose. Honestly, clean out your ears." Katie says. I stick my tongue at her and she returns the gesture. Lissa got that one, of course. I put my ear back to the door. I can't quite hear the next one and I furrow my brows in frustration. "Best hair, I won best hair." Katie informs me again. She should win for best ears, and she isn't even Moroi. Mia looks disappointed she didn't win anything until Jacob says she won best hips, sorry, I mean lips. Maybe I do need to clean out my ears. When Jacob mentioned wanting to spend time with her lips, she didn't look too flattered. She looks like she wants to barge in there and slap him. I give my calm down look. We all lean back in waiting for them to talk again when the door suddenly opens and all fall over each other onto the floor. We look up and see all the guys staring down at us, Christian looking like he's about to start laughing. We get up and I brush myself off. I'm a little embarrassed for my childish behavior so I try to play it off by throwing it back at them.

**Dimitiri POV**

"Since you guys decided to rate us according to best body parts, we'll do the same to you. Now line up!" she orders. We all do as we're told because, you don't mess with Rose. The girls all walk around us checking us over. How embarrassing. Then they all huddle together to discuss their choices. Every once in a while I could see one of them look up back at us and smile. They're doing a lot of gigglig too. That's not good. I'm getting annoyed at all this and cross my arms over my chest and give Rose my 'I don't like this so hurry up' look. She must have got the message because they break up and Rose gives us the results.

"Okay boys, first we would like to say how disappointed we are in you all for playing such a stupid, sexist game. Second, here are the results. Just a sidenote, if it was my way, Dimitri would win every catagory." She smiles at me. I can't help but crack a smile at that. "The winner for best smile goes to Peter. You should really let us see it more often." I look over to Peter and he shows us why he won. "Best voice goes to the one with the sexy Russian accent that gives me goosebumps all over whenever I hear it, Dimitri." I'll have to give her an earful tonight. "Next is for sexiest eyes. That award goes to Christian's icy blue orbs. Best ass goes to Eddie." She says as she waggles her eyebrows up and down at him making him blush. "Best defined and toned muscles goes to Alex. Very nice." she adds. She looks over to me and gives me a wink. I'm a little ashamed to admit that Rose made me feel better about Alex winning that one. Rose must have voted for me. "Best laugh goes to Adrian. Your welcome, hon." It can be a little unnerving when she talks to him like that. "And last but not least, best hair goes to Jacob because that is about your only good quality." That's funny. He just gives all the girls a dirty look. I notice Mia glaring at Jacob. I guess she didn't like what he had to say earlier. She walks over to Peter and offers him a water bottle. He gives her a quiet thanks but that's it. She gives him a little smile and nod and turns to walk away. I know he likes the girl, so why isn't he making his move. I give him a little push forward, making his stumble a bit. He looks back at me confused as to why I pushed him. I raise my eyebrows and point to Mia.

"Go talk to her. Ask her about how her training is going." I suggest. He nods to me and slowly walks up beside her. I see them talking as they walk out of the gym. Rose notices too because she comes up to me, wrapping her arms around me.

"That was nice of you to help him." she says as she kisses my chest.

"Пожалуйста, Roza." I say in my sexiest voice, earning my title. She gives a little moan and grabs my hand and leads me out of the gym and to our room. Hopefully our second shower of the day will be just as enjoyable as the first, minus the singing.

**I hope you liked it. I had a little trouble with the guy talk because, well, I'm a girl. I hope I did all right. Review and let me know what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**I don't own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead is the lucky one.**

**Rose POV**

Did you know that Florida is a pretty big state? At least, that's what Lissa keeps telling me every time I ask her how her search for Ezekiel's other house is going. Daphne, the blond Strigoi with a grudge against Strigoi Adrian, told us he could be heading there. The other possiblity is Russia. That would be ideal since Dimitri's family is there and I know he misses them. He told them about our engagement and he says they are all dying to meet me. That makes me a little nervous. I hope I don't disappoint. His family is excited about our marriage, unlike my mom. She's better now, but when we told her at my graduation, to say she was pissed is an understatement. It took her about thirty minutes just to compose herself before she would even consider speaking with us about it. She went on and on about our duty and reputations. When she shut up long enough to let me speak, I told her about our mission and the fact that Dimitri is my guardian and she relaxed a bit. She did mention something to Dimitri about a machete and a shallow grave if he ever hurt me. She took it a lot better than I expected.

Wow, what a way to get off topic. Anyway, I'm hovering over Lissa while she goes through record after record looking for any clues as to where Adrian is headed. "Rose, this would be a lot easier for me if you wouldn't read over my shoulder. It's very annoying." She's been looking for the last five days without any luck. I'm hoping Daphne will get ahold of me somehow and give me some good news, but I guess I really shouldn't trust Strigoi. For all I know, she could be sending us on a wild goose chase.

"Well, I have to go anyway. I have an afternnon shift at the front gates this afternoon. Let me know if you find anything." I tell her. She gives me an icredulous look.

"No Rose, I was planning on keeping any leads I find to myself, just for the fun of it." I think Christian has been a bad influence on her. I walk into my room to get my guardian uniform on, and I see Dimitri in his workout clothes. He's working with Peter again today. They've been training together everyday. He says that Peter is doing really well with his punches. Today they are going to go over kicks. I've noticed that Dimitri and Peter have also been talking more outside the gym too. Apparently, Peter has a grandmother in Russia and they talk about it all the time.

"Hey, can you help me find my holster, I can't find it." I ask as I lift the comforter edge up to look under the bed. Where did I put it? I hear Dimitri clear his throat and I look up to see him dangling it in front of my face.

"Rose, if you would put things were they belong, you'll find it when you need it." he lectures. I roll my eyes and snatch the holster from him. I put it on and put my pistol in it. I only wear the gun when on duty, but my stake is with my twenty-four seven. I kiss him goodbye and head off to the front gates. I can't believe I'm actually going to be on time. Guarding the front gates isn't too bad. I get to check people in and out of the Courts. You get to know the who's who of politics this way. I get there and relieve the guardian that's now off.

"Hey Smith, anything exciting happen today?" I ask like I always do. He shakes his head while standing up and moving to the door.

"Same old, same old. Oh, your favorite royal is coming in a couple hours. Here is his room number for him and his guardians." Ugh. Not this guy again. He doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself. Maybe I can get the other guardian I'm working with to deal with Lord Conta.

"So who is on duty with me this afternoon?" I ask Smith before he walks out the door. He tries to keep a straight face, but fails miserably as a smile creeps over his face when he tells me.

"Guardian Bubbles will be here shortly. He had a quick meeting with the Queen." He knows that I can't stand Bubbles and the thought of the two of us working together for six hour is apparently very amusing to him. I, on the other hand, don't think it's funny at all.

"Are you shitting me? This is so going to be a miserable day." I slump in the chair. I can't fight him when on duty, which is going to be difficult since he is such an ass. Eddie has to work with him the other day, and he said that Bubbles was tallking shit about me the whole shift, just because he knows we're friends. This is going to be the biggest test of my control, ever.

I'm alone in the little guard shack right now so I decide to turn on the radio. I turn the dial until a familiar tune comes blasting through the speakers. Yes! Respect by Aretha Franklin. I love this song. It's a classic. I can't help but sing out loud and dance to this song, using my stake as a microphone. "Ooh, your kisses, are sweeter than honey."

_"Little Dhampir."_

"And guess what? So is my money."

_"Rose!"_

"All I want for you to do ooh for me."

_"For god sake Rose."_

"Is to give it to me when you get home."

_"Please make it stop."_

"Yeah baby. When you get home. R-E-S-P-E-C-hay." The music stops. I stop dancing and turn around to see Guardian Bubbles by the radio. "What the hell? That was Aretha you just turned off. Have a little respect for the Queen of Soul."

"No radio while on duty." he says dryly. Man, lighten up.

"Then why is there a radio in here to begin with if we can't listen to it?" He doesn't answer but walks to the chair on the other side of the shack and sits down.

"That's what I thought. Asshole." I say under my breath, but loud enough for him to hear me. He doesn't acknowledge what I said but stares out the window, keeping an eye out for potential threats. I sit down and put my feet up on the desk and look around the room. It's pretty boring. On the wall is a calendar, written all over, and some guardian memos. Hanging by the door is the clipboard we use to log in all visiters. God, I'm bored. I look over to Bubbles and he hasn't moved.

_"I'm bored Little Dhampir."_

"Me too." I say out loud. I want to see how long it takes to get a reaction out of Bubbles.

_"Want to play twenty questions?"_

"Okay, you first." Out of the corner of my eye, I see Bubbles looking at me with a confused look on his face. As far as he can tell, I'm talking to myself.

_"Alright, I got it. Start guessing."_

"Is it a person?"

_"Yes."_

"Is this person a female?"

_"No." _Okay, that narrows it down to half the population of the Earth.

"Is this person human?"

_"No."_

"Is this person Moroi?"

_"No." _Dhampir male.

"Is this person a guardian?"

"Who the hell are you talking to? Are you on a cell phone? You know you can't make personal calls while on duty." Bloom finally says. It took him longer to butt in than I thought it would.

"I'm not on the phone. I'm playing twenty questions with Adrian. Now shut it. You're making me lose my concentration." I say to him. I can tell that pissed him off, but he's fighting to keep his emotionless mask on. "You didn't answer my last question, Adrian. Guardian?"

_"Yes."_

"Do I like this guardian?" Adrian starts laughing.

_"Not at all." _I think I know the answer, but I want to have a little more fun.

"Does this guardian have a big stick up his ass?" I get a glare from Bubbles for that one.

_"Yep." _

"Is he a big sore loser just because he got his ass handed to him by a girl?" I say loud and with enthusiasm.

_"Ah huh."_

"Is this pain in my ass Guardian Bubbles?" I practically shout.

_"Ding ding ding. She got it." _he says. I jump up and down in front of my chair with my arms in the air.

"Yes! In your face, Ivashkov! Whoo hoo!" I taunt the angry guardian next to me.

"Now that you won your little game, can you get serious and do your job? Act like a grown up for once." What is this guys problem?

"I take my job very seriously. I've killed more Strigoi at eighteen than most guardians ever see in their lives. Life is too short not to enjoy yourself when you can. You know, carpe diem. Pull the stick out of your ass and loosen up. It's just you and me, no one else. You can smile. It won't kill you, I promise." I see his jaw tighten and he turns away and stares out the window again.

Just then, a car pulls up. I walk out and see it's the Moroi I've been dreading. Lord Conta sees me and steps out of his car with his guardians by his side. I could check him in while he stays in his car, but then he couldn't try to cop a feel. "Guardian Hathaway, always a pleasure to see you." He says while looking right at my boobs. I move the clipboard to cover my chest and his eyes finally move to my face. I have my guardian mask on to show Bubbles that I do take my job seriously and to hopefully discourage Conta from making an advance on me.

"Lord Conta." I say in acknowledgement. "I have your room assignment here." I hand him a piece of paper. "and for your guardians." He grabs my hand with the paper and pulls me to him and he leans over to whisper in my ear while his other hand finds its way to my ass.

"I would like to thank you personally for taking such good care of me. Come to my room after your shift." I get a shiver down my back and I use all the control I can muster to not punch this jerk right in the nose. That would certainly end my guardian career. Instead, I grab his hand off my butt and pull away from him and smile.

" No touchy touchy." I say as I shake a finger in front of his face. "Actually, Guardian Smith is the one responsible for your accomdations. I can pass your invitation on to him, if you'd like." he gives a light chuckle in amusement and reaches around to pat my ass again but I quickly move out of the way.

"No need Guardian Hathaway. No need." He gets back in his car and one of his guardians drives off toward the guest quarters. Once he's out of sight, I clench my fists, squeeze my eyes shut tight and growl loudly in frustration. I walk in and see Guardian Bubbles looking at me with a smile on his face. Great, now he smiles.

"Enjoy the show?" I ask him in a huff. I slam the clipboard on the desk and drop myself down in my chair hard.

"Actually, I'm surprised you didn't knock his lights out." I turned and glared at him.

"He's a Moroi. A royal Moroi at that. I'm not going to risk my career because I lose control over some old pervert that can't keep his hands to himself." He chuckles and goes back to looking out the window. We don't talk to each other for the rest of my shift. About thirty minutes before I'm off, I get that all too familiar nauseus feeling in my gut. "Strigoi." I tell him. He stands up and gets his stake ready and we both walk out the gates to look around. On the other side of the gate, I see Daphne. Maybe she's bringing me good news. I wave to her and start to walk toward the gate to meet her. I'm stopped when Bubbles grabs my shoulder and pulls me back.

"What are you doing? We need to sound the alarms and call for reinforcements." he says. I just roll my eyes at him and pull out of his grip.

"It's just Daphne, from the raid the other day. She probably has some information about Adrian's whereabouts." I walk up to her and smile. "Hey Daphne. Were you able to find out where Adrian went?" She looks over my shoulder at Bubbles and smirks.

"Your friend there doesn't like me much." she says to me. Then she talks louder to him. "Don't worry, sweetheart, it's just me. I come in peace. Just need to deliver some info to Rose here." She turns to me again and crosses her arms over her chest. "He left a couple days ago for Russia. I can show you exactly where if you take me with you." Is she serious? She sure has one hell of a sense of humor if she thinks this is funny.

"This isn't some travelling circus you can join after running away from home. We kill your kind for a living. A bit of a conflict of interest, don't you think?" Besides, she already told us the lady Adrian is most likely looking for is in Siberia when we first spoke. Shouldn't be that hard to find, right? "Why do you want to come with us, anyway?"

"Because I am now a wanted woman among Strigoi. Marvin, who also escaped the raid heard me talking to you and now I'm considered a traitor." Oh great, a guilt trip.

"Hey, I'm real sorry that happened, but there's no way I can bring you with us, I have Moroi with me and I won't endanger their lives any more than I already am."

"Well, I'm still going. I want to make sure that Ivashkov bastard gets what he deserves." she scowls. She can sure hold a grudge.

"Maybe you should forget about him and just move on. He isn't worth it." especially since I don't plan on killing him at all.

"If it was the first time he did this to me, I would agree with you. But no, he did this to me a couple years ago. Then when he found me again a month ago, he told me he couldn't live without me and needed to be with me forever. He bit me before I could say anything and then, after I was awakened, we were together for a couple weeks before he said he was bored with me. Now he needs to die a painful and slow death." she fumed.

_"I thought she looked familiar." _Adrian says.

"Well, you do what you need to do, but I can't take you with us. Thanks for the information, though. Is there a way to get ahold of you?" I feel safer if I can know where she is. She shakes her head.

"I'll find you if I have any other information that will help you find and kill him." She then turned and was gone in a blink of an eye. I walk back into the guard shack and call Dimitri. Guardian Bubbles is standing right behind me as I am on the phone. When I hang up, and turn and look up at him.

"You're taking off for Russia now." He states. Well, duh. "Good luck on your mission. Be careful." Uhh, what?

"Umm, thanks." I say confused. I thought he hated me more than anyone else on the planet, and now he tells me to be careful.

"You're a good guardian, dispite your personality. It would be a waste if you died." I guess that was a compliment.

"Don't worry about me. It's gonna take a lot more than a spoiled royal Strigoi like Adrian to get rid of me. I'll be back to kick your ass some more." I smile and punch him in the arm. He actually cracks a smile and nods. If I didn't know any better, I think we were on our way to a very strange friendship.

I leave at the end of my shift and head back to meet up with the gang. Dimitri has them all in our room so we can go over our next course of action. "So, Vendetta Barbie paid you a visit?" Jacob asks.

"Yes, she did. Adrian is on his way to Russia, I assume to meet up with some lady in Siberia. That's where you're family is, right Dimitri? Maybe we should pay them a visit while we're there. We can set up our headquarters in a nearby hotel." Dimitri's face beams when I mention this.

"I'll book a plane to take us to Siberia as soon as possible." Lissa says. She gets up and heads right to the computer to make the arrangements. About ten minutes later, she tells us we leave in the morning. Everyone leaves our room to pack and get a good night's sleep. Dimitri is putting his clothes in his suit case when I walk up behind him and give him a big hug. He turns around to face me leans down and kisses my gently.

"I've been thinking" I tell him. "How would you like to get married in your home town with your family there?" The look in his eye was indescribable, he was so happy.

"That would be a dream come true. I can't wait for you to meet my mother." he lifts me up in a huge hug and spins me around. He puts me down and gazes into my eyes. "I love you, Roza."

"I love you too, comrade." The packing will have to wait for the morning because I don't think I'll be able to let him go for the next twelve hours or so. Then it's off to Russia.

**I know this chapter is a little short, but I needed to transition from Court to Russia. Review and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh boy, now we're off to Russia. Things are going to get interesting now.**

**  
I don't own Vampire Academy**

**  
Rose POV**

**  
**I know I wanted to get to Russia as soon as we could, but did Lissa have to book the flight so freakin' early? I'm not a morning person by nature and the fact that Dimitri and I kept each other up most of the night isn't helping my disoriented mood this morning. Now I am scrambling to pack my stuff and get cleaned up and ready for the long trip. If I was smart, I would've packed before I went to sleep like normal people do. But, normal was never a word used to describe me. Besides, if you had a drop dead sexy man in your bed kissing on you, would you be stopping to pack? I didn't think so. Now we're running behind and everyone else is gettin on my case. I don't know how, but Dimitri is already packed and ready to go. Mia came in, shoved me into the bathroom to get ready while she literally stuffed my clothes in a suitcase. I tried to tell her that the clothes will get wrinkled and she said "You should've thought of that before your sex-o-thon last night." I love Mia, but sometimes she can be a real bitch.

We managed to get to the plane alright. We're taking a private jet to New York where we will connect with a commercial flight to Italy, first class of course if it's on the Queen's dime. Lissa hasn't filled me in on the rest of the trip yet. I'm not really sure if I want to know by the way she keeps avoiding the subject. "Well, Rose, from Italy we take a flight to Moscow. Then we will get on the Trans-Siberian train and go to Omsk." Lissa tells me.

"What the hell? Can't we just take a direct flight to Baia? Please don't tell me it's a remote village, way up in the mountains and we have to ride some arctic version of a camel to get there." I plead.

"Roza, I told you Baia is much like Montana, not an arctic wasteland." Dimitri reminds me.

"Oh yeah, every picture I've seen is always the same thing. Some guy standing in the snow wearing a big ass fur and a beaver pelt on his head." I tell him. He just rolls his eyes at me.

"Maybe you need to look at more pictures. Siberia is very beautiful. You'll love it." I look over at him and see how his face lights up when he thinks of home.

"Well, I guess any place that gave the world Dimitri Belikov, has to be heavan on Earth. I'm sure I'll love it too." I say as I give his a peck on the lips. He gives me a squeeze and whispers in my ear.

"Thank you, Roza." he starts kissing my neck, sending delightful shivers down my spine. Lissa takes that as her que to go sit somewhere else.

"If you guys are gonna start that up, I'll go find Christian and talk to you later." As she walks away, I can't help but giggle.

We got to New York pretty quickly and hop on another plane to go to Italy. I slept through most of the flight since I didn't get much sleep the night before. Dimitri wakes me up when we land in Italy. Our connecting flight to Moscow is not for another two hours. It's not long enough to do any sight seeing, so the boys decide to find the airport bar while we girls find a little cafe and relax.  
We are all talking and drinking our coffee, or hot chocolate in my case, when I notice a dark-haired man with a goatee staring at us. I can tell he is Moroi by his look, even though he has a tan complexion, and the fact he has two big guardians standing close to him, eyes constantly casing the place for danger. He looks pretty rich by his flashy clothes and gold jewelry. I wonder if he's a royal? I try to ignore him, but I can feel his gaze on me constantly and it is really getting on my nerves. I'm about ready to go over to him and tell him to get lost, when one of his guardians comes over to our table.

"Excuse me ladies, but my boss would like a word with the two of you." he says indicating me and Rose Ann. The nerve of him to send his crony over to fetch us like the daily newspaper. First I turn and send a glare to the old guy, then I turn to the guardian.

"You can tell your boss that we aren't bloodwhores, and if we were, we have better taste than the likes of him. We are guardians and good ones at that." I look the guardian up and down. He is pretty tall but not overly muscular, more wirey. "I'm sure I can take you down without much effort, so I would back off and leave my friends and me alone." The guardian smirks and nods.

"I seriously doubt you could do much damage to anyone, but I will pass on the message to my boss." But before he leaves, I want to show him my credentials.

"Yo, bean stalk." I call him back over. I lift up my hair and show him my seven Molnija marks and battle star. He gasps when he sees them and turns away and walks back to his boss. I look over and see the man smile as he is being told what I said, all the while staring right at me. I get the feeling he isn't used to rejection, but instead of being pissed, he looks amused. He says something to the guardian, who in turn nods to him and heads our way again.

"My boss sends his appologies for the misunderstanding. He still would like an audience with you two, and if I were you, I would grant him his request. He is a very powerful man, one that you do not want as an enemy." Now he's using intimidation? He's messing with the wrong girl if he thinks that tactic will work. I cross my arms over my chest and send my best intimidating glare his way. Without breaking eye contact, I give the guardian another message to take back to his boss.

"Threats will get him no where. I have more powerful enemies than him, so his second hand threats don't scare me. Tell the old man that if he wants to talk to us, he needs to get off his ass and do it himself. Better luck next time." With that we all get up and walk away to find our men. I look over my shoulder to see him getting his message and laughing while shaking his head. 

We finally make it to Moscow. I can't believe I am actually in Russia. As we're driving from the airport to the train station to board the Trans-Siberian to go to Omsk, Dimitri is pointing out special buildings and landmarks. I can tell how excited he is to have me in his home country by the way he talks about everything. I also have Adrian in my head chatting away about everything being pointed out too. It's like having warring tour guides. I repeat some of the stuff Adrian tells me back to Dimitri, trying to sound like I did some research on the place and know what I'm talking about. Dimitri seems rather surprised and pleased with the little bits of trivia I throw into the conversation. I'm such a cheater. I think I'm getting away with it too until Dimitri bursts my bubble.

"I didn't know Adrian knew so much about Russia,, I thought he was Romanian." At first I just stare at him with my jaw on the floor. He just let me go on and on thinking I was impressing him. He looks at me and chuckles. Whatever.

I've never been on a train before, so it was a shock when I saw how small the first class cabins were. Since there are eleven of us, and one cabin fit two people. we got six rooms. The easiest and safest way to bunk was by having each Moroi and their guardian room together. Lissa and Christian were particularly pissed. Mia got her own room since she is essentially her own guardian. I just made sure she was right next door to me.

I'm hungry, as usual so we head to the dining car to get some dinner. As I enter the car, I get nauseus. There are Strigoi on the train. I whisper to Dimtiri and tell the others to go back to their rooms while we check it out. I walk down the aisle and the feeling intensifies. I look up a few rows and see a familiar head of long blond hair. Daphne. I let out a sigh of frustration as I walk up to her and sit in the empty seat beside her.

"Are you stalking me?" I ask her.

"Don't take it personally, but you're not my type." she grins at me. Oh great, I get a tag along Strigoi with a sense of humor. "You're friends are safe, don't worry. I won't bite them, I fed before I boarded." That doesn't make me feel any better.

"You promise?" I ask. I don't know what it is about her, but I trust her. I just hope it doesn't come back to bite me in the ass.

"Yes. You know, being Strigoi doesn't make me an evil bitch. Adrian did that." I look over to Dimitri and tell him to let the others come in. He looks a little wary, but I nod in reassurance, and he complies. I introduce everyone to Daphne, who is very polite and smiles and nods to everyone because they are all to nervous to actually shake her hand, except Jacob. He takes her hand and kisses it like a gentleman. I know Daphne is very beautiful and all but, dude, she's still Strigoi. She hunts and kills your kind for breakfast. He really is the type of guy to flirt with anything wearing a dress.

"So, Daphne, do you know exactly where Adrian is going?" I ask.

"Umm, no. But I know someone who might know. He lives in Omsk. I'm going there to visit him and get more information."

"Does he know you were awakened? Is he Strigoi too?" She sure is going to a lot of trouble to help us out.

"Yes, he is Strigoi, but a little different. He doesn't kill humans, dhampirs or Moroi to survive. He lives off the blood of animals. I'm going to visit him to learn more about that. I don't want to be a monster."

"Hey, it worked for the Cullens." Jacob adds. What an idiot.

"Jacob, that's a book. This is real life we're talking about." I roll my eyes at him.

"Yeah, well I haven't had anything other than animal blood since I met you. I figured the only way you would let me come with you is if I didn't pose a threat, so I converted." Again, doesn't make me feel any better. I know Daphne means well, but I know bloodlust can be very powerful and she might not be able to help herself, so each guardian takes a shift walking the hall in front of our rooms. Thankfully, the night was uneventful and we finally make it to Omsk. We unboard the train and stand around and wait. For what, I'm not sure. I say goodbye to Daphne and tell her we're going to Baia to set up headquarters and to visit when and if she gets any more info on Adrian's whereabouts. I feel a little guilty not telling her about saving him instead of killing him like she wants. But I can't risk it yet, not until I know where he is.

"Okay, now how do we get to Baia?" I ask anyone who will listen as we are just standing around the platform.

"We're waiting for them to saddle up the reindeer. We ride them to Belikovs house. Just a couple more days and we'll be there!" Jacob says excitedly. He better be kidding or someone is going to be in a lot of pain. Just as I'm about to complain, I see two vans pull up in front of us and the guys start putting our bags in the back. We all climb in and head off. From what Dimtri says, this road is pretty dangerous, so we agree to drive in shifts. It's gonna take about seven hours, but Strigoi are known to hunt travelers. I pity the Strigoi who dares try to hitch a ride with us.

**Review. Review. Review. Please. Tell me what you think. Next chapter we meet Dimitri's family.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. You guys rock!****  
****As usual, I don't own Vampire Academy.****  
****Rose POV**

**  
**The trip from Omsk to Baia was hell. Did we run into Strigoi, you ask? No. We had to stop about every hour for various reasons. What should have taken seven hours, took us eleven. I kid you not, eleven. A few stops were for a couple bathroom trips. About halfway through the drive, Christian was playing around with his fire magic and nearly caught Mia's hair on fire. To retaliate, she used her water magic to explode his soda all over him. It not only got him drenched in the sticky stuff, but the whole back seat as well. I made them both clean it up when we stopped so he could change. I swear, sometimes I am so glad Dimitri and I will never have kids. I just don't think I have the patience. After Christian was in dry clothes again, we headed back on the road. An hour later, Lissa decides she's hungry and we need to stop for food. Again, we stop at a gas station to grab some snacks. Jacob sees a tuna sandwhich in the vending machine and decides to eat that. "Do you think that's wise?" I asked him. He just snorted at me.

"Rose, they aren't going to put food out that isn't fresh. Have a little faith in the small business man." he says.

"Alright, it's your stomach." I warned him. I bet you can guess what happened about an hour later. Yep. He was hanging his head out of the car window, puking his guts out. Unfortunately for me, I was in the van behind his and saw the whole thing. Of course that meant we had to stop. Again. For the fifth time. At this rate, it was gonna take a week to get there. By the time we did get to our destination, I jumped out of the van, fell on my knees and kissed the ground. "We made it! We finally made it!" I fake cried. "I'm never going on a road trip with you people ever again!" I yelled at everyone. They all, and I mean all, rolled their eyes at me and walked into the hotel without another word to me.

The hotel is very big and very beautiful. All lot of Moroi men stay here when visiting, so there are wards around the hotel. Even though Dimitri says the Dhampir community is full of single moms raising their kids the best they can, it is still a bloodwhore haven and Moroi men traveling through is common. I swear if any one of them tries to make a move on me or my friends, their gonna get a mouthful of my fist. I don't care who they are. We're all exhausted from our long trip and Jacob still isn't feeling well from the food poisoning, so we call it a night and get some rest. Dimitri says we are going to visit his family tomorrow. Why couldn't he wait and tell me that in the morning? Now I'll never get to sleep.

When I finally do drift off to sleep, Adrian is waiting for me in a cute little park, complete with a playground. He is sitting on a swing and gestures for me to come over and swing with him. I sit next to him and start pumping my legs. I haven't done this in ages. I forgot how fun it is, how it feels like I'm flying. "I bet I can swing higher than you can." I challenge him.

"No way, Little Dhampir I am the king of the swings." We both pump our legs as hard as we can but seem to peak at the same hight. So I offer up another challenge.

"Let's jump off and see who can land the farthest away."

"Alright, you asked for it. Ladies first." he replies. I don't do anything for a few minutes and he looks at me confused. "Are you going to jump or what?" he asks.

"Well, you said ladies first, so I was waiting for you." I tease. He glares at me before he jumps off the swing and lands about fifteen feet away. Good jump. I give myself one last good pump and launch myself into the air, landing just behind him. Damn it! I hate losing.

"I win Little Dhampir. Now come over here and give me my prize." He closes his eyes and puckers his lips and waits for me to come kiss him. I walk over and plant a kiss on his cheek. He opens his eyes and looks a bit disappointed. Thankfully he doesn't say anything about it. Instead, he takes my hand and we walk over to a bench by a little lake where there are lots of ducks swimming around. "Well, I never thought I'd see the day Rose Hathaway would become buddy buddy with a Strigoi." he laughs.

"Well, I wouldn't be if you weren't such an ass and she didn't want your head on a platter."

"Yeah, she used to be real sweet. Wouldn't hurt a fly." he muses.

"I guess becoming a member of the evil undead causes a slight personality shift." I say as I roll my eyes.

"Too bad she wasn't more like that when we were going out. She's definitely more interesting now." He has this weird look on his face as he thinks about Daphne.

"And the fact that she wants you dead just adds to her attraction, I'm sure. You know what you're problem is?"

"No, but I'm sure you're going to enlighten me." he says dryly.

"You want what you can't have. You're so used to getting anything you want. Every girl you came across would throw themselves at you. Then I came along and didn't give you the time of day and you became obsessed with me. Of course, because of your persistance, we got to know each other and are now best friends, but it all started with the initial rejection." Wow, I think I just unlocked to inner workings of Adrian Ivashkov. Next, I'll tackle peace in the Middle East.

"You're forgetting that I had Daphne, twice." he says.

"True, but now that she doesn't want you, you want her. Man, I'm a genius."

"I'm not in love with her, I just think she's a more interesting person now, that's all. Actually, I'm more interested in seeing Belikov's sisters." he says as he waggles his eyebrows up and down.

"I'm sure Dimitri will just love the idea of you going after one of his sisters. It's not like he's the over protective type or anything." I say, sarcasm dripping of each word. He seems to contemplate this for a moment.

"You're right. I'll have to wait and see if they're worth the hassle first." I playfully punch him in the shoulder and turn my attention back to the ducks. The dream starts to fade as I wake up. We give each other one last hug before we part. I wake up looking into the most beautiful brown eyes on the planet. He looks like a littel kid on Christmas morning, he's so excited to see his family.

"Good morning, comrade." I say as I gently kiss his lips. "What time is your family expecting us today?" I ask between kisses.

"They don't know we're here. I wanted to surprise them." he answers. I'm sure meeting your only son's shadow kissed fiance and the Strigoi hunting misfits we work with will be very surprising. "I want just you and I to meet them today. We can introduce the others later." he adds.

"Yeah, you need to ease them into our little group. Too much too soon could scare them off. I think meeting me is going to be enough for them to handle today." I joke.

"That's what I was thinking too." he teases. I push him over and pin him down on the bed.

"Do you think you can handle me?" I ask trying to do that cool eyebrow thing he does so well. He tries to flip me over, but I put up a good fight, keeping him pinned beneath me. He stops struggling and starts caressing my thighs and backside with his soft, yet firm touch. I closes my eyes and enjoy the feel of his hands on my skin. I let up my hold just enough for him to take advantage and flip me over onto my back, looking up at his smiling face. He holds me down and starts kissing along my collarbone, neck and finally stopping at my lips.

"I think I'm the only one who can handle you, Roza. That's why we belong together." He whispers. That is so sweet, and so true, too. God I love this man. Our lips meet again and we enjoy the most passionate, wonderful kiss ever.

About an hour later, we manage to untangle ourselves from each other so we can take a shower and get ready to surprise his family. I am so nervous. What if they don't like me? What if their dislike of me puts a major strain on his relationship with his family? I don't want to hurt him. Don't think like this Rose! Dimitri said they will love me. I want to look nice so I wear a cute little sundress and sandles. I wear my hair up to show off my marks. I want them to know that I am a serious person and not just a trouble maker.

We get to his family's house and walk up the porch and knock on the door. No one answers. Not because no one is home, but because someone is screaming and doors are slamming. At first I was worried that something was wrong, but when I looked up at Dimitri, he looked embarrassed. "My sisters must be fighting again. Bottling up their feelings was never a problem for them." This is all so new to me. Lissa and I never fought like this and I only just met my sister. He tries knocking again, much louder, but still nothing. He tries the door handle and finds it unlocked. He shrugs his shoulders and opens the door and we walk in. I see a teenage girl with Dimitri's eyes come running down the stairs with a pair of scissors in one hand and a blouse in the other, screaming something in Russian. When she gets to the bottom of the stairs, she starts to cut the fabric but stops when she sees Dimitri and I standing in the living room. At first she just stands there staring at him, then she screams "Dimka!" and comes running at him at full speed, still holding the scissors. Before she reaches him, I quickly grab the sharp, potentially lethal object from her grip before she tackles him. I don't need anyone stabbing my man. I'm guessing this is Viktoria by her size and description Dimitri gave me of his sisters. I see a door open on the other side of the dining room and two older women walk through. I immediately know who they are, Olena his mother and Yeva his grandmother. Just looking at his grandmother scares the hell out of me. She looks like a witch. I hope I don't get on her bad side. I see where Dimitri gets his eyes. He looks a lot like his mother. She looks over at Dimitri in utter shock. Then she walks over and I see tears in her eyes. Dimitri releases Viktoria and gives his mother a huge hug, muttering something in Russian. Viktoria finally notices I am standing there and her eyes go wide with realization.

"You must be Roza." I nod and she tackles me just like she did Dimitri. Okay, not used to this. Suddenly, two more women and a boy come bounding down the stairs. One is pregnant and the other is holding a baby. His other sisters, Karolina and Sonya. Dimitri pulls away from his mother and reaches over grabbing my hand and pulling me close to him.

"Momma, this is my Roza. The woman who has agreed to be my wife." My heart jumped when he said 'wife'. She looks me up and down and smiles. The next thing I know she pulls me into a strong embrace, practically sufficating me.

"Can't...breath." I choke out. Dimitri pulls his mom off me and I smile at her.

"Oh Dimka, she is so beautiful. Welcome to the family, Roza." She pulls me into another hug, but not so tight this time. Viktoria leans over and whispers in my ear.

"You're the first girl Dimka ever brought home. She was starting to worry about him ever finding anyone." Sonya and Karolina make their way over and hug us both also. The boy, who looks to be around ten, I notice standing off to the side, just staring at me. I smile at him and he blushes and looks away. Must be shy.

"You must be pretty special to be able to stand this guy." Sonya teases. Dimitri glares at her and she just laughs. "We have so many stories to tell you, Roza, about Dimka growing up. This is going to be fun." I can't wait to hear more about Dimitri as a kid, especially from others people's point of view. The girls pull me onto the couch and start talking about a time when he was eight and Karolina dressed him up in girl clothes and make-up when she wanted to play beauty shop and needed a victim. Poor Dimitri.

"Okay, now I want to see the naked baby pictures." I tell them. Sonya was right. This is gonna be fun.

**Well, it seems meeting the family is going pretty well. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, I thought I'd try something different. The whole chapter is in Dimitri's nephew Paul's POV. He's a ten year old boy, so I hope I get it right. I translated it to English so you can read it.**

**As always, I do NOT own Vampire Academy.**

**Paul POV**

"Sonya, you are such a cow!" SLAM! Sounds like Aunt Viktoria and Aunt Sonya are fighting again. When those two go at it, there is no peace and quiet to be found anywhere. I'm laying on my bed, throwing my ball against the wall and catching it over and over trying to drown out their bickering. Being the only man in a house full of women can be very lonesome sometimes.

"And you're an immature brat who thinks she can just take whatever she wants without asking!" SLAM! God, what did Aunt Viktoria do now? She's only six years older than me but at times acts younger. She has a bit of a temper, especially when it comes to Aunt Sonya. They fight about stupid stuff all the time. I hear a door open and then another.

"I don't know why you are being so selfish. You're too fat to even wear it now and it looks better on my anyways." That was a low blow. Aunt Sonya is pregnant so a lot of her clothes don't fit right now. She won't be big forever and will need her clothes back eventually.

"That doesn't matter. It's still mine and I said you couldn't borrow it." Ugh, they're giving me a headache. I can't wait for school to start again in the fall. It'll be so nice away from all these stupid girls. I can't wait for my friends to come over later. Of course the main reason some come over is to ogle at my Aunt Viktoria. My friends think she's pretty and have a crush on her. I don't get it. At least it gives me a chance to do guy things.

"Well, if you won't let me borrow it, then I'm gonna make sure you'll never wear it either." Aunt Viktoria screams. How is she going to do that?

"Don't you dare do anything to that blouse. It's one of my favorites." I hear someone running down the stairs. Finally, maybe they'll take it outside.

"Dimka!" I hear Aunt Viktoria yell from downstairs. Oh my god. Is Uncle Dimitri here? I haven't seen him since I was litte. I think I was around six. I hear my mom come out of her room and start walking down the hall. Aunt Sonya and I follow her to see what Aunt Viktoria is screaming about. I get to the bottom of the stairs and see a huge man hugging my grandmother and Aunt Viktoria hugging some dark-haired girl. Whoa, Uncle Dimitri looks bigger than I remember. He pulls the girls close to him.

"Momma, this is my Roza. The woman who agreed to be my wife." He's getting married? But she looks like a Dhampir. I thought you couldn't do that. Now I'm confused. My grandmother looks very pleased to meet her though. My mom and Aunt Sonya walk over to see my uncle and his girlfriend so I guess I will too. Wow. I think she is the prettiest girl I have ever seen in my life, and that includes Anya from school. I remember when Uncle Dimitri would call home and tell us about his student he was training. She doesn't look like a trouble maker. From what he said about her, she's one of the best fighters ever, aside form him of course. Uncle Dimitri is the best guardian out there. I think I'll ask him to show me some moves while he's here. She already has a bunch of Molnija marks from what I hear. Maybe I can see them if she just turns her head a little... She's looking at me. What should I do? Do I say hi, or shake her hand? Now she's smiling at me. She's even prettier when she smiles. She caught me staring at her. How embarrassing. Look away Paul before you really make a fool out of yourself.

Aunt Viktoria pulls Rose on the couch with her and they all start telling her stories about Uncle Dimitri when he was my age. He doesn't look to happy about this. Then they pull out the old photo album when Rose asked to see him as a baby. I've heard a lot of these stories before so I go sit with Uncle Dimitri. "I'm glad you're back, Uncle. It's hard being the only boy." He smiles at me and nods.

"I know exactly what you mean. I was the only boy until you came along." Yeah, living with a house full of girls really sucks sometimes. At least it's something we have in common.

"You were right." I tell him thinking about a phone call he made to us not long after he brought her and the princess back to the academy.

"About what?"

"She_ is _the prettiest girl in the world." I had asked him is she was pretty and that's how he answered.

"Yes, she is." he said smiling.

Grandma decided that she wanted to talk to Uncle Dimitri and Rose alone so they went to the kitchen to help her make dinner. Rose must not do very much cooking, because when I went in to get a glass of water, Uncle Dimitri was standing behind her, almost hugging her, showing her how to cut the vegetables. How hard is that? She didn't look like she really wanted to know though because she kept tilting her head back and kissing my uncle's neck. Gross. I was able to catch a peak at her marks on her neck. She is so cool! While they finish cooking, I go outside to see my friends. My two best friends, Grigori and Sergei are a few years older than me. The come over all the time when we're home from school because Sergei has a huge crush on Aunt Viktoria. So, of course, they want to come in so he can drool over himself while looking at her. Whatever. I can't wait to introduce them to my uncle, though. He is a legend around Baia. He has more Molnija than anyone else from our town. We go through the back door and into the kitchen. Uncle Dimitri must have given up teaching Rose how to cook because she is now sitting at the kitchen table watching him help my grandmother. Either she really is bad at cooking, or she really knows how to get out of doing things she doesn't want to do. I try to do introductions.

"Uncle Dimitri, Rose, these are my friends, Sergei and Grigori. We were wondering if you could show us some of your fighting moves?" I ask them in my most pleading voice. Sergei looks at Rose and scoffs. A lot of the kids here are raised with the belief that the men become guardians while the girls stay and have children. After hearing Uncle Dimitri talk about Rose, I don't really believe that anymore.

"I'm sure your uncle can teach us some things, but the girl, I could probably take her." Sergie says. Everyone in the kitchen but my friends laugh at him.

"I would be careful what you say around Rose. She's taken me down before." my uncle tells him. My friend doesn't seem to believe it until Rose shows him the back of her neck. I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head when he saw her marks.

"Why don't you two go out with the boys and show them how real guardians do it. I'll finish up and let you know when dinners ready." My grandmother says as she pushes Uncle Dimitri out the door.

"Let me borrow some clothes from Viktoria. I don't want to get the dress ruined." Rose says as she heads towards the living room. Good luck with that. Aunt Viktoria isn't big on sharing her things. Amazingly, Rose comes back out in shorts and a tank top with my Mom and aunts trailing behind. Even Yeva, my great grandmother comes out to see them fight. They start circling each other and then my uncle lunges at her and she blocks it. I can't believe it! They each start punching and kicking each other while the girls are rooting for Rose and me and my friends are shouting for Uncle Dimitri. Eventually, my uncle ends up pinning Rose to the ground, but she doesn't look mad or nothing. My friends and I were so excited we started jumping up and down, shouting 'boys rule and girls drool'. Then Uncle Dimitri did something I didn't want to see. Before he got off her, he leaned down and kissed her. You don't kiss the enemy after you kicked their butt. What was he thinking. Grown ups are really odd sometimes.

Dinner was really interesting. Uncle Dimitri and Rose told us all about their friends and about how they are looking for a Strigoi named Adrian whose soul is living in Rose's body right now. That is super creepy. They told us about the attack at the academy and all the raids they've been on. I ask my uncle lots of questions about how he fought the Strigoi. Sometimes he answers and a couple times he said I wasn't old enough to hear the answer. Not old enough ? I'm ten and three quarters. I'm practically a man. Maybe he didn't want to say anything in front of my grandmother. She always worries about him, and now Rose too. I notice Yeva staring at Rose all throughout dinner. I know that look too. She must have had one of her dreams. Hopefully it was a good dream, but by the look on her face, I doubt it. Then the girls start talking about the wedding and all sorts of boring stuff, so I stop listening.

Rose invites us all to dinner tomorrow night to meet her family and the friends they hunt with. Uncle Dimitri tells me that they are going to be training at the local gym in the afternoon and asked if I wanted to come watch. You bet I want to come! Aunt Viktoria manages to weasel her way into the training too. She can work with Rose. I'm staying with Uncle Dimitri. I'm gonna be a great guardian just like him someday.

**I know it's shorter than usual, but Paul is only ten, he doesn't have a whole lot to say. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm glad many of you liked little Paul's POV last chapter. I got a request to hear from Adrian, so I did my best. Hope you like it.**

**Adrian POV**

"Good moring, comrade." Rose whispers to Dimitri. He opens his eyes and looks into her eyes and smiles.

"Good morning to you too, Roza." he replies as he leans in and kisses her lips. Ugh. I gotta stop this.

"_Good morning Little Dhampir_. _Time to get out of bed and start your day."_ I plead. Please, anything but morning sex. You guys do enough of that at night. Give me a break, will ya. But, they don't. Okay, if they're going to keep kissing like this, I'm outta here. I'm really good now at blocking out Rose's bedroom activities with Dimitri. In the beginning, it was hell, feeling and seeing everything she was. But now, piece of cake. I take myself to my favorite spot, my grandmother's garden. I used to take long walks in this garden with my grandmother when I was younger. I makes me feel safe, something I need to feel when Rose gets busy with her man. I wander around looking at all the flowers and statues, remembering simpler times, before I lost my body and had to share one with a very sexy dhampir. After a little while, I check to see if they're all done committing sin. I know, I'm one to talk. Rose must have her eyes closed because everything is dark. I hear the shower running and feel a warm fuzzy blanket on top of us. Alright, Rose is still in bed and Dimitri's in the shower. I'm so glad they're not in there together. A little while later I feel something tickling our ear.

"Your turn Roza. Don't worry, I saved you some hot water." Dimitri says in our ear as he gently shakes her awake.

"You better have." she says, not yet moving. This is my favorite time of the day, shower time! The first time Rose took a shower after I moved in, she was a wreck. She had her eyes closed the whole time and barely touched her body for fear I might enjoy myself. She was right. I love shower time. I know. I'm a perv. But now, she doesn't seem to care as long as I don't say anything. She has an amazing body, which she works very hard to maintain. That leads me to made least favorite part of her routine, training. Most of the time I can block her out, but sometimes when she gets hit real hard and it causes a lot of pain, the walls fall down and I feel everything. I doesn't seem to bother her most of the time because she's used to it. But for me, it's torture.

Today the whole gang is training at Baia's only gym. This should be interesting. This town doesn't exactly scream twenty-first century, so I can't wait to see what kind of equipment they have. I'm picturing basketballs with stitches and giant rowing machines that take up half the room. Dimitri's sister and nephew are coming to watch Dimitri do his thing. I swear that kid Paul has a serious case of hero worship going on for his uncle. I guess I can understand that. But it seems like the whole town is headquarters for the Dimitri Belikov fan club. The whole gym is filled with spectators to see him. I'm surprised he's not signing autographs at the door. They must be hard up for role models in this town. I know, I know, he's one of the best guardians out there, but I just don't like him. You know why.

Rose is working with the girls again and Dimitri works with the guys at the other end of the gym. I have to admit, Lissa is doing a lot better than I thought she ever would. Of course my aunt would shit a brick if she ever found out Lissa was learning how to fight. She's nowhere near Rose, but for a Moroi, not too bad. And Mia, well, she can kick some ass. She is so serious during her training. Right now she's sparring with Katie and is getting some good hits in. I'm proud of that little one. Rose has been working with her on how to use the stake to kill Strigoi. I noticed she's using the same one I used in the house to kill that one Strigoi. God, I hope I never have to do that again. Even Belikov's little sister is pretty good. Must be genetic.

There is a group of teenage boys, around Viktoria's age watching Rose and the girls train. I can hear them talking about which girl they want to do unspeakable things with. Lucky for them Rose doesn't understand Russian. I see Viktoria giving them dirty looks and trying very hard to ignore them. I think Rose notices Viktoria's struggle too. _"Hey Adrian, do you know what those boys are saying that has Viktoria so on edge?"_

_"Yeah, but I don't think you want to know."_

_"Tell me Adrian."_

_"Well, first they were talking about how you are all are better suited to be bloodwhores than guardians. Especially you. They don't think you could really fare well against a Strigoi. Apparently they don't know who you they each picked a girl they want to have sex with. The big guy with the red jacket is telling his friends how he wants to make you scream his name. Just don't hurt anyone, okay. Rose. Stop. Don't go over..."_ Ahh hell. I should have lied and said I don't speak the language. Now she's walking over to the guy with her man eating smile on her face. This can't be good.

"You want to make me scream your name do you?" she asks the offender. He is just grinning so wide like he just won the lottery. Think again, idiot. "What's your name?"

"I'm Anton. What's yours?" he says trying to match her flirtatious manner.

"I'm Rose. I bet I can make you scream my name too." His eyes go so wide I thought they were going to fall out of his head. She reaches out and grabs his hand and pulls him up so he is standing up real close to her. His breathing has picked up and I can hear his heart beating faster. Rose definitely has that effect on men. Now she's leading him onto the middle of one of the mats. This is going to be fun. He looks a little puzzled now, but keeps following her. "Do you like it rough, Anton?" she asks him while running her fingers up his arm. He just nods. Man, you should have said no. I'm surprised Dimitri hasn't come over to see what is going on. "Here's what's gonna happen, Anton. We're gonna fight. When you want me to stop hurting you, just scream out my name and I'll do the same, but I wouldn't count on it." he looks her over and then looks over to his stupid friends who are encouraging him to do it. He agrees and takes his jacket off and throws it to the side.

"When I win, I want a kiss, too." he adds as he gets into his fighting stance. Rose chuckles and shrugs her shoulders, knowing that isn't gonna happen.

"Yeah, okay." Anton takes the first swing and Rose easily dodges it. She doesn't strike back yet, opting for defense right now. She toying with him. Everyone in the gym is watching Rose and Anton now, even Dimitri. He looks pretty amused as he watches our girl teach this ass a lesson.

"Are you afraid to fight me, Rose? I noticed you haven't even tried to attack." he asks smugly.

"I figured I'd let you have the first shot, but since you haven't connected anything yet, I'll wait." That pissed him off. He picks up his pace with his kicks and punches but Rose easily avoids them.

"Rose, we don't have all day. Will you beat this guy so we can get on with our lives?" Dimitri yells to her.

_"What do you think, Adrian? Have we played with him enough?" _

_"Yeah. Do your thing Little Dhampir." _With that she strikes out quick and hits him right in the nose sending him backward on his butt. The look of shock is priceless. He gets up quickly and comes at her again but she spins around and kicks him in his chest sending him staggering back. She keeps going, hitting him in the ribs and face. He's getting very tired now and can barely lift his arms.

"Just say my name bitch." she taunts him as she punches him in the face again.

_"I'm getting bored now Rose. Can you just end it now?" _I ask her. She knocks his feet out from under him and then jumps on him and pins him.

"You're boring so I'm ending this before I really hurt you. If I ever hear you or your friends talking shit about me or my friends again, I'll let my fiance Dimitri have some fun with you. He isn't as patient as I am. He goes for the kill right away." She gets off him and walks over to Dimitri and gives him a kiss. Not this again. Poor Anton struggles to get up and staggers over to his friends who are giving him a bad time for losing. Paul comes running up to Rose.

"Oh my gosh Rose, that was so cool!" he gushes. That kids aura is pink. Great, just what I need, more competition for Rose's heart.

After training, we head back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. Dimitri's family is joining us so they can meet our motley crew of misfits. The restaurant we're eating at is just down the street from the hotel, so we walk. As we walk down the street, we get lots of stares and whispers from people passing by. I don't know if it's because word has gotten around about who we are and what we do, or if it's because we are a good looking group. A group of girls walk by, smiling and giggling at Dimitri, until Rose glares at them.

When his family arrives, Dimitri does the introductions and we all take our seats around the table. I notice Jacob almost trip over himself to get the seat next to Viktoria, According to his aura, he likes what he sees. Mia is sitting next to Peter. He is so gone for the girl, the red light around him is practically blinding. She isn't glowing like Peter, but she is surely starting to reciprocate his feelings. I'm happy for him. He's a good kid. His healing powers are really getting stronger, even better than me before I was turned. Lissa and Eddie are sitting by Karolina and Sonya telling stories about Rose getting into trouble at school. Those two have known her longer than anyone else and have some great stories. Rose blushes a few times at what they are revealing about her. Dimitri mutters something about payback and laughs.

After a while of laughing at Rose's expence, she changes the subject by mentioning the wedding to Lissa, who goes off on a tangent. I hate all the talk about the wedding. I know I want Rose to be happy, but when she does get married, it will make it so final. She will never be mine.

_"So Adrian, what do you think about my soon to be inlaws?" _Rose asks me trying to stay away from all the wedding talk. She's letting Lissa and Olena arrange everything.

_"They're very nice. I like his mom, Olena. She loves you very much already. As soon as she saw you, her aura just lit up. But his grandmother, Yeva, scares the shit out of me. Let's stay away from her, shall we?" _Her aura is confusing me. It has some gold in it which usually indicates a spirit user, but she's not Moroi. Very odd.

_"I know what you mean. Dimitri mentioned she's kinda like a witch because she has visions in her dreams." _Rose explains. She's been staring at Rose most of the night. I think I need to talk to her privately in a dream. If she is pychic, she'll know I'm coming.

"_Jacob looks like he's having a good time with the youngest sister." _I mention. She looks more closely and tries to listen to their conversation. Jacob is actually on good behavior. Of course he's leaning in a little too close for Rose's comfort and touching her arm too many times, but he's not blatantly hitting on her. Viktoria seems to react positively to him. She's definitely attracted to him.

"_We'll have to keep on eye on those two. Hopefully Dimitri doesn't notice." _she says.

_"Yeah, well if he hurts Jacob defending his sister's honor, then Peter can heal him for practice." _she chuckles and gets a couple looks from people.

_"If he hurts her, I won't let Peter touch him." _

After everyone finishes eating dessert, which Rose had two of by the way, goodbyes were said and we headed back to the hotel. When we get to the room, I'm actually hoping Rose and Dimitri do what they usually do so I can try to dream walk with Yeva and get to the bottom of her strange behavior towards Rose. As predicted, they get themselves all hot and bothered and I retreat to my own little world. I search out Yeva's mind to see if she's dreaming so I can bring her here to me. Thankfully, she is. I create the restaurant we were just at and pull into the scene. When she gets here, she doesn't seem surprised to see me.

"I knew you were coming. You want to know what I saw." She has no problem getting right to the point.

"Yes. Is Rose going to be alright?" Anything I think I could deal with, except her being hurt.

"The dream wasn't about Rose. It was about you." she says. That is totally not what I thought she would say.

"Me?"

"You need to let Rose go. She is not meant for you." she tells me.

"You're only saying that because your grandson is marrying her."

"No. There is one out there that keeps coming back to you. Let her in and she will save you." Can she be more vague?

"Who is she?"

"In your heart, you know. Listen to it and call to her. She will come. She is your true other half, just like Roza is Dimitri's other half." Okay, that last statement burned a bit.

"But I love Rose more than anything else in this world. I can't imagine anyone else filling her place in my heart."

"Of course you love her, as she loves you. But you need to open your heart to let another love in, the one meant for you. Until you accept the fact that Rose belongs to Dimitri, you'll miss your chance at true happiness. You need to do that soon, or your mission will fail. Now, let me back into my own dream. I was having a very nice dinner with Sean Connery and I would like to get back to it." she tells me.

"Sean Connery, ay?" I ask with a hitched eyebrow. I never pictured her for the romantic type.

"I'm a James Bond fan. So sue me." she says without even cracking a smile. I let her go and just sit and think about what she said. She keeps coming back to me? Who the hell keeps coming back? And letting Rose go? Just thinking about that hurts my heart. My mind knows I need to since she is getting married, but my heart has other ideas. Maybe if I can figure out this riddle, I can move on. Maybe Rose can help solve this puzzle. Here she comes.

**Hmm? Who could Yeva be talking about? Don't forget to review and let me know what you think. Do you like reading other people's POV? If yes, who would you like to hear from?**


	14. Chapter 14

**I think this is one of my favorite chapters. I hope you like it.**

**Richelle Mead owns Vampire Academy and I am not her.**

**Mia POV**

Beep...Beep...Beep...SLAM! Damn alarm clock. Time to get up and train. Normally I don't get up this early, but we are going to Rose and Dimitri's engagement party at his mom's house this afternoon. Rose says I'm doing very well and I love the fact that I can defend myself if I need to. I feel like such a badass when I hit stuff. I need someone to train with me since Rose is still a little hesitant to let me walk down the street by myself. She's such a worrier. Rose Ann and Katie are still asleep.

"Katie, wake up. I need to train. Come with me pleeeeease?" I ask as I shake her shoulders trying to wake her.

"Go away, Mia. I'm too tired. Ask Rose Ann." she mumbles from underneath her blankets. Okay.

"Rose Ann. Could you please, please, please come train with me?" I ask as sweetly as I can.

"Mia, can't you skip one day? It's too early." She rolls back over and goes back to sleep. Grrr! Don't they understand that I have to work twice as hard as them because I'm not a Dhampir? Well, if they won't help me, maybe one of the guys will. I get dressed into some work out clothes and leave the room, slamming the door on my way out as a 'thanks for all your help'. I'm a little pissed, can you tell? I knock on the boys door and wait. No answer. I knock again, louder. Then I hear something hit the door and a faint 'go away'. You can't get rid of me that easily. I pull out one of the bobby pins I have in my hair and proceed to pick the lock. I slowly and quietly open the door and peek in. I walk over to Alex's bed and start shaking his shoulders. I lean down to whisper in his ear so I don't disturb the others.

"Alex. Alex, can you come train with me?" He doesn't repond. "Alex." I whisper louder. Nothing. Man he's a heavy sleeper. "Alex!" I yell in his ear. He jumps up and looks around for whatever woke him up.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" He asks while trying to get his eyes to focus on me.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to walk down to the gym to train with me?" I asked him, batting my eyes at him. He doesn't say anything for a few momments, but just stares at me. Then he grabs the blanket and pulls it back over him as he lays down again.

"Not today, Mia. Go back to sleep." Re-jected. That leaves one other guardian because their is no way I'm going into Rose and Dimitri's room. You never know what they're doing. I walk over to Eddie and instead of trying to wake him up nicely, I push him out of the bed and onto the floor. He lands with a thud.

"Oh good, you're up." I say as he looks at me bewildered as to how he ended up on the floor. "Want to go down to the gym and get some training in?" He looks at me like I have just lost my mind.

"What the hell, Mia? Did you just push me out of bed?" Well, duh. Isn't it obvious? I just shrug my shoulders at him.

"Are you coming or not?" I ask with my hand on my hip, getting frustrated at the lack of cooperation from my so called friends.

"No, I'm not. Go ask one of the girls to go with you." He says as he gets off the floor and climbs back into bed. Now what do I do? I could try Jacob or Peter, but they're not guardians and Rose would get mad. But I don't really have any other choice, so I try to wake Jacob up, but not really hard. I really don't want to spend the morning with him. Then I walk over to Peter and just look at him asleep. He looks so cute and peaceful. I know he has a crush on me and I like the attention he gives me. He is such a gentleman, always holding the door for me and pulling out my chair when we eat. Who does that anymore? I smile as I brush some hair off is forehead. I can see myself falling for him, but he's just too good for me. I haven't always been a very nice person, just ask Rose and Lissa. I went as far as to sleep with two jerks just so they would start spreading some awful rumors about Rose. I can't believe I actually did that. Biggest mistake of my life. I shudder just thinking about Ralph touching me. I still have nightmares about that. I can still be a bit of a bitch at times, too. He deserves someone a lot better than me. I'm trying to make up for all the horrible things I did in my past, but it doesn't make them go away. I don't want to wake him up, so I'll just go train by myself. With the way these guys sleep, I'll probably get back before they even wake up. I lean down and give Peter a little kiss on the cheek before I walk out of their room. Sleep tight, my prince.

I go down to the feeders room before I work out. Since this hotel has a lot of Moroi guests, they are equiped with essentials such as feeders. I walk out of the hotel doors and take a look around real quick before I actually step out. The sun is just starting to come up, so I shouldn't have any trouble with any Strigoi attacking. We are on a human daylight schedule like Dimitri's family. I set off down the street, constantly checking my surroundings like Rose taught me. I see a couple teenage boys, they look like dhampirs, walking toward me. The blond one is pretty tall and bulky while the dark haired one is about a foot shorter. They are looking at me and whispering to each other. I can smell trouble brewing. I keep my eyes forward, ignoring them hoping they will just walk past me. No such luck. They walk right in my path and stop, blocking my way. I look up at them and cross my arms across my chest. "Can I help you with something?"

"Where's your guardian, little one? Don't you know it's dangerous for you to be out here all by yourself? You don't want some big bad Strigoi coming out and biting that pretty little neck of yours." The bigger one says as he reaches out to touch my neck. I swat his hand away and take a step back.

"Touch me and I'll break your every one of your fingers." I say as menacingly as I can. Apparently it doesn't have the effect I want it to because they just look at each other and start laughing.

"Ooh, I see the kitten thinks she's a tiger. You must be that Moroi girl in Belikov's group who's learning to fight. You wanna be a guardian when you grow up?" the short one asks while still laughing. What a jerk.

"I want to do my part fighting against Strigoi. Just because I'm Moroi doesn't mean I'm helpless. Now if you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than stand here and chat with you." I say as I try to walk around them. The big one grabs my arm before I can pass him and pulls me closer to him.

"If you don't want to chat, I can think of a few other activities we can do together." he says into my ear. I feel the bile rising in my throat and I swallow to keep it down. I yank my arm out of his grip and start to walk away.

"Not even if you were the last man on earth." I say over my shoulder. I probably shouldn't have said that because all that did was piss him off. He grabs my by my shoulder and shoves me against the brick building we're next to. My head slams hard against the wall. Man that hurts. He presses my shoulders to the wall and gets way too close to me.

"Just because you're Moroi doesn't give you a free pass to be a bitch. If you want to act like a dhampir, then I'll treat you like one. The ones from this town at least." With that he presses his lips against mine. I keep my lips tightly closed, and try to get out of his grip, but he is pinning me against the wall hard. Then I realize that my legs are free, so I use all my strength and raise my knee up as hard as I can right into his groin. He bends over in pain, releasing his hold on me. I start running down the street, away from these goons, but the short one catches up to me right before I get to the gym. He tackles me down to the ground and pins me down.

"That wasn't very nice. I'm so sick of you Moroi thinking you can do whatever you want and we dhampirs just have to shut up and take it. Not anymore." He pulls his hand back and slaps me hard across my face. Shit! My eye feels like it's going to explode. I struggle as hard as I can to get this asshole off me but he's just too heavy and strong. All of a sudden, I feel his weight leave me. I look up and see Peter throwing him off of me. I hurry and get up to stand next to him. The two dhampirs are coming at us again and they don't look too happy. This is it, we're dead.

"Stop. You don't want to harm us." Peter says in a calm voice. They both stop in their tracks and look at Peter with a glazed look in their eyes. "You are going to turn around and forget you ever saw us this morning." They nod their heads and quickly walk away. Peter used compulsion on them. That was brilliant! He looks over at me after they turned the corner and his eyes go wide. "Oh my god, they hurt you." he says as he gently touches my cheek. I wince when his finger makes contact to my skin. He pulls his hand back and looks at me with sadness in his eyes.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were asleep." I say to break the silence between us. He looks down at his feet when he answers.

"I was awake when you came into our room earlier. I was hoping you would ask me to come with you, but you didn't, and I didn't want you coming here by yourself. So I figured I'd follow you to make sure you made it safely." he admits shyly. I'm stunned. I put my finger under his chin and lift it up so I can look him in the eye.

"Thank you." I say simply. I grab him by the elbow and lead him down to the gym. I didn't get up this early for nothing and I'm not gonna let a couple assholes keep me from training. I put my bag down and start to walk over to a mat to stretch when Peter stops me by grabbing my wrist. He pulls me around so I am facing him. Without saying a word, he places his fingertips to my cheek and closes his eyes. I feel warmth and then cold and warmth again flow through my body. When he removes his hand, all the pain in my face is gone. "You healed me." I say. He gives me a slight smile. God , he's so cute. I stand there and look into his beautiful hazel eyes, hoping he doesn't get shy and look away like he always does. So far so good. I wonder what it would be like to kiss him. I want him to kiss me. I need to give him some signal that his kiss is more than welcome without scaring him off. I reach over and hold his hand in mine. "Thank you again. You seem to be my knight in shining armor." I say never taking my eyes off his. I take a step closer to him, hoping he'll take the hint. It seems to be working because he is leaning in closer to me too. I reach up on my tippy toes to close the gap between us. When our lips finally touch, it feels like my heart is about to fly out of my chest. His lips feel like feathers against mine, such a light touch. I run my hands up along his arm to his shoulders. I reach my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me, deepening the kiss. I'm a little afraid he's going to pull away, but to my surprise, he doesn't. He puts his hands on my waist and pulls my body closer to his. I smile inside at his new boldness. I decide to push him a little farther to see what his limit is. I lightly brush my tongue along his lips to see what his reaction will be. He gives a little gasp and parts his lips just enough for me to enter. He tastes as sweet as he is. So far, he isn't backing off. Our tongues are now caressing each other and it feels like electricity is pulsing throughout my body. He's a really good kisser. I think we stayed in that spot kissing like that for at least five minutes. He finally pulls away just enough to break contact. He rests his forehead against mine and tries to control his breathing, as do I.

"I've been wanting to do that since the day I first saw you." he confessses. Wow.

"I'm glad you finally did." I say. He gives me a big smile and kisses me again. After another minute he pulls away again.

"I guess if we want to train, we better get started." he says. What? Do what? I'm a little confused. I look around and realize we're in the gym. That's right, I came down here to work out. His kiss had me all confused for a bit. I shake my head to get the fog to clear my head.

"Right, right. Should we start out running some laps to warm up?" I ask. He nods and we start running. We don't say anything but keep stealing glances at each other. Everytime he catches me looking at him, I turn away and blush. We finish running and go to the weights. We spot each other and talk about training stuff. After we finish with that, I put some gloves on while Peter grabs the punching pads to help me with my punches. As I'm punching away he starts the conversation.

"So, how come you decided to train like a guardian?" he asks in between my punches.

"Well, my mom was killed in an attack. Then I heard Tasha Ozera talking about Moroi and guardians working together to go find and kill Strigoi if we know where they are before they have a chance to kill more people. I want to be part of the solution instead of doing nothing but waiting for the the danger to come to me. I don't want to be helpless." I tell him as I continue to hit the pads as hard as I can the way Rose taught me.

"When you're ready, are you going to take the trials and become an official guardian?" he asks. I never thought about that really. I would love to be a real guardian. Being a Moroi, I'm not sure they'll let me.

"Can I even do that? I know the Queen is letting our group have a lot of leeway with the rules on using offensive magic, but I don't know if they'll let me become an actual guardian." I say with a shrug.

"Well, do you want to be the first Moroi guardian in our world?" That does sound really cool. I stop what I'm doing and just think about that for a second. I know I'm doing pretty well, but do I have what it takes to actually pass the field trials and become a guardian?

"I do, but I don't know if I can even pass. I'm not as strong as dhampirs and I'm a lot shorter than most. I probably wouldn't pass anyway." He looks at me confused and then shakes his head as he walks closer to me.

"Don't think like that. You're really strong already and if you keep training, you'll get stronger. And as far as your size, that doesn't matter if you know the right moves. Look at Rose's mom. She the smallest guardian out there, but also the most deadly, besides Rose. Don't let something as trivial as size keep you from accomplishing something you really want. I believe you can do it." he says and as I look into his eyes, I can see that he means every word. He does believe in me. My heart starts beating faster as I look at his smiling face.

"Thanks for believing I can do it. I'm going to have to train even harder if I have any sort of chance of passing. Will you help me?" I ask stepping even closer to him.

"Of course. I'll do anything for you Mia. You just have to ask." I reach up and put my two gloved hands on either side of his face and pull him down for a kiss. It feels so good to have someone believe in me like this. We back away and I continue punching the pads, even harder now that I have a goal to reach.

When we are finally finished, I grab my bag to walk back to the hotel. Peter takes my bag and carries it for me and then reaches over and holds my hand as we walk along the sidewalk. I adjust my grip so that our fingers are intertwined with each other. We get back to our rooms and Rose comes flying over to me when she sees us. "What the hell were you thinking going out there without a guardian?" she yells. Still holding Peter's hand I look at her calmly.

"I have decided that I want to take the field trials and become an official guardian, so I needed to train. No one else would go with me except Peter. We made it back alive so get off my case." I love Rose, but she tends to be a little dramatic at times. I'm not going to mention the incident with the dhampirs because that will just prove her right.

"You want to take the trials?" she asks. I nod. She thinks about this seriously for a minute before responding.

"Well, you're going to need a lot more training. I'm sure Dimitri will help too. Because of your shortness, training with someone really tall and big will help you find a way to use threir stature to your advantage. We can start tomorrow. It's going to be a lot tougher. Can you handle that?" I look over at Peter and he squeezes my hand letting me know he's standing behind me in whatever I decide.

"Absolutely." I tell her. She looks over and sees our hands still connected and gives us a big smile, but doesn't say anything. She turns around and goes back to her room. Peter walks me two doors down to my room, just like if we were on a date. He gives me back my bag and leans in and brushes his lips to mine gently. He pulls away with a big smile on his face.

"I'll see you later." he says as he walks back to his room and shuts the door. I open my door and walk over to my bed and plop down on my back and let out a big sigh. I think I'm in love.

**I think Mia and Peter are so cute together. Review and let me know what you think. Thanks.**


	15. Chapter 15

**I am not Richelle Mead, therefore I do not own Vampire Academy.**

**It seems you like hearing from some of the others, so I will have a few POV' s this chapter. I hope you like.**

**Rose POV**

"I did it! I did it!" I sing and do my little victory dance. Dimitri leans out of the bathroom door, toothbrush in his mouth, looking at me questioningly.

"What did you do now?" He asks after he spits. I stop dancing and stare at him with a big smile and my face and hands on my hips.

"I got Mia and Peter together. I just saw them in the hall, holding hands." I start to do my little dance again. I've begun to think of Peter as the little brother I never had and made his happiness a project of mine.

"I think you give yourself too much credit. They're the ones who did the work. We just help nudge them in the right direction." He says as he picks his towl off the floor. Such a neat freak.

"What do you mean 'we'?

"I did a little nudging with Peter, remember? Poor kid was a little clueless as to what to do." he says chuckling a little thinking about how he pushed Peter to go talk with Mia after training one day.

"Okay, you're right. You helped too. Oh and guess what?" I ask excited. He just shrugs, not really wanting to play my little guessing game. "Mia wants to train to become an official guardian. She wants to take the field trials and everything. I told her we'll help her. You will help, right?" He looks at me with a skeptical look on his face.

"Well, I will help her because she is doing very well and is very dedicated to learning, but I just don't want her to get her hopes up. Even if we can get her in to an academy to take the trials, and if she actually passes, do you think the Queen will allow her to be sanctioned?" he asks concerned. He has a good point.

"Ya but, isn't that what our little group is kind of about? We're revolutionizing the relationship between Moroi and Dhampirs. We have Jacob and Christian using offensive magic on the front lines of a fight. You and I are getting married, two guardians, and we don't have to go into exile to do it. And we have a Strigoi spy working with us. Considering all that, what's the problem granting Mia guardian status if she passes the same trials any other guardian does to graduate. At least we can try." I tell him. He smiles at me and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him.

"You are truly something Roza. If this is something you both want to fight for and pursue, I will help any way I can." He says as he kisses the top of my head. Do I have the greatest man alive, or what?

A little while later, we were all dressed up and on our way to Olena's house for the engagement party she is hosting for us. We walk in and see a mountain of food on the dining room table, in the kitchen and on some tables in the backyard. Is the entire town coming? There is already a crowd of people in the backyard. Everyone with a drink or a plate of food in their hands, in little groups talking to each other. Dimitri takes me by the hand and proceeds to introduce me one by one to everyone. They all are very nice and give me big hugs and kisses on the cheek. I don't think I have ever been manhandled when not fighting so much in my life, but I just smile and take it.

_"Little Dhampir, are we done with the hugging and kissing yet? That last old lady had a funny smell."_ Adrian whines.

_"I hope so. My cheeks are feeling a little chafted from all the kisses." _I tell him. We come up to a group of three women reminiscing about their glory days. They keep laughing when one of them brings up a memmory that was amusing. Dimitri and I walk up to them and they stop the talking and laughing as soon as they see Dimitri. Something with the way they are looking at him bothers me. One of the women, I think Dimitri said her name was Elena, put her hand on his arm and left it there while talking to him in Russian. I don't like her. _"Adrian, translate."_

_"Well, they went to the academy together and apparently had a really good time together at some guy named Ivan's party. It sounds like they've had fun at a few parties." _The wave of jealousy that overtook me almost knocked me over. I just don't like her, I hate her. Rationally I know that Dimitri had a life before me, but I didn't like it touching his arm like that. But I know I have to keep my control and not punch her lights out. I don't want to embarrass Dimitri in front of his friends. I tighten my grip on his hand to let him know I wasn't happy. He looks over to me and smiles and excuses us as we walk on.

"Old girlfriends?" I ask innocently.

"Something like that. Are you jealous, Roza?" he asks. Did he forget who I was?

"What do you think?" I say. He stops walking and pulls me into a hug and whispers in my ear.

"Don't worry Roza. You are the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with." His warm breath tickles my ear as he says this and sends chills down my back. Any jealousy I was harboring melted away at his words. Okay, I think I'll be alright now.

**Jacob POV**

I can't believe Rose and Belikov are getting an engagement party. Isn't the wedding and reception going to be enough? Yeah, we know you're in love and happy together and all that. We get it. You don't need to rub it in to us poor shmucks without anyone. I was with Mia for a little while, but she apparently felt bad for Peter and is with him now. Whatever, her loss. Actually, I have my eye on the youngest Belikov sister. I know what you're thinking, suicidal move, right? But she's so hot! I was talking to her at dinner the other night. She's got spunk, that one. I was telling her all about my royal family trying to impress her, but she could care less. I was even bragging about how I helped fight in the attack at the academy. That peaked her interest. Turns out she wants to follow in her brothers footsteps and become a guardian and not a bloodwhore. Maybe she could join our merry band. She still has a year left of school, but then again so does Mia and she's with us. Of course being Moroi, she was able to take some test and graduate early. I suppose it's different for dhampirs. Learning to fight, and fight well takes more time. I would love to see her fight if she's anything like her brother. Mayber Viktoria and Rose could spar. Man, I would love to watch that. I bet a lot of guys would. I'll have to talk to Rose about that.

I see Viktoria standing over by the bonfire talking to some dhampir boys. They all have the same idiotic love striken face. Maybe I can pull her away from her drooling admirers for a while.

"Hey Little Belikov, are you going to introduce me to your fan club?" I ask pointing to the boys now scowling at me. She looks at me confused. She obviously doesn't realize the effect she has on boys.

"Oh, they're just some friends from school. How are you doing?" she asks turning attention away from them and over to me. I take the opportunity to take her elbow and lead her to seat at a bench in front of the fire.

"I'm doing great now that you're with me." I say with my signiture smirk all girls, with the exception of Rose, melt at. She gives me a playful punch in my arm and giggles. I love the sound of her laughter. She looks me in the eyes, smile still on her lips.

"I bet you say that to all the girls. How am I supposed to take you seriously when you just give me your cheesy lines." She's a tough one to impress.

"I guess you'll just have to trust your heart." Did I just say that? What's wrong with me? She looks me in the eyes and seems to consider what I just said. She didn't get up and leave, but turned to look into the fire. That's a good sign. I think I'll show her what we fire users can do. In the fire, I create an image of a horse running through the flames. Her eyes go wide when she sees it and looks over to me.

"Are you doing that?" she asks.

"Yep. Do you like it?" I ask and she nods, staring at the figure in the fire. "Would you like to see something else?" She nods, still speechless. I concentrate and in the fire, her beautiful face appears. I hear her gasp next to me, along with the crowd of people who have gathered behind us. Then I create my image next to hers and make the two faces kiss. This makes her laugh. She nudges me with her shoulder, finally impressed. She leans over to me and gives me a kiss on the cheek. I was about to say something when I hear a growl behind me. We look back and see a very angry Dimitri right behind me. I'm guessing he didn't like the fire show as much as Viktoria did.

"Run, stupid." I hear Rose tell me from behind him. You don't have to tell me twice. I remember the little chat we had back at the academy and I certainly don't want a repeat. I figure I'm in hot water with him anyway, so before I take off, I lean over and kiss Viktoria on her cheek.

"Gotta go. If I live I'll talk to ya later." I shout as I take off running.

**Lissa POV**

I absolutely love Dimitri's family. They have been so welcoming to all of us. My emotions are all over the place right now. I am so happy for Rose since she grew up without a family and now she is getting one. Sure, my family took her in during holidays and breaks, but it wasn't quite the same. Then they were killed and we were both left with only each other. Her mom is never around, she doesn't even know who her dad is and she only recently found her sister. Dimitri's mom and sisters seem to have accepted her like she has always been there. I guess that's how it's supposed to be. Just looking at Olena fussing over Rose makes me long for my own mother. If Christian and I get married, I won't even have a mother in law since both of his parents are dead too. Okay Lissa, this is a happy occasion. Stop being such a downer. Rose deserves to be happy more than anyone else I know, so stop being sad and jealous and go celebrate her blessings. I wipe away the stray tear that fell down my cheek as I go outside to look for Rose.

Just as I walk out the door, Peter grabs me and pulls me over to meet a couple people talking to Rose. The woman is Moroi and the man is a Dhampir, a bit older than her. He has his arm around her waist, so they must be a couple, but an unusual one. When I reach them, Rose looks over to me very excited.

"Lissa, meet Oksana and Mark. She's a Spirit user like you and he's shadow kissed like me. Their bonded!" she practically shouts. Oh my god. I can't believe we found another bonded pair. I have so many questions for them, as does Rose and Peter. Adrian must be talking Rose's ear off because every few minutes she starts yelling at him to 'shut the hell up for one minute'. We all sit down at a nearby table and talk for about an hour. Apparently Oksana heals the darkness from Mark and infuses a ring with Spirit to help with the darkness.

"We'll have to go jewelry shopping tomorrow Rose. Get you a whole arsenal of rings, bracelets and necklaces since you have two Spirit users dumping darkness on you." She looks excited about that. We told them about Adrian and how they are using Spirit to help make Rose stronger and faster during battle.

"Just be careful, Rose and, um, Adrian. Using Spirit like that can produce a lot of darkness at once which could be very dangerous." Mark warns. Don't we know.

"Yeah, we know, but we've found a way to deal with it. The charmed rings will surely help though." Rose tells him. "Adrian would like to know if he could dream walk with both of you tonight. All of us can be there to talk some more. He would really like to meet you face to face." Oksana looks very excited about this new ability she's never heard of. They both agree and Rose starts to get up to find Dimitri when she stops and looks at me. "Strigoi are here."

**Sorry for the cliffie, but I'll update tomorrow. You know I'm good for it. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm not Richelle Mead, therefore I don't own Vampire Academy.**

**Rose POV**

"Strigoi are here." I tell Lissa as the nausea washes over me. I find Dimitri and tell him to be on alert. We walk around looking for the Strigoi with out letting the rest of the party know what's going on. Don't need to panick everyone yet. Then I hear a comotion at the front of the house. I run as fast as I can to see if the Strigoi are there. I see a couple of Viktoria's friends from school circling someone. I can't get a good look because a crowd is forming around them.

_"Rose, stop them! It's Daphne." _Adrian is panicking in my ear. I tackle the big kid, I think his name is Lev, to the ground while Alex, who was right behind me, goes for the other one. Daphne looks pissed right now, which scares me.

"Are you insane? The one you're supposed to kill is standing right there." the kid beneath me screams, pointing at the blond Strigoi. Dimitri comes over to help me keep everyone off Daphne. I get off the Lev and pull him off the ground and hand him to Dimitri. I walk over to Daphne, who is glaring at everyone.

"Daphne" I say as I slowly walk toward her. "Glad you could make it." She looks over to me and a small smile appears on her lips.

"I didn't think you would mind me crashing your party with the news I have for you." She's absolutly right if it leads me to Strigoi Adrian.

"Let's go somewhere a little more private to talk. You did feed before you came right?" You can never be too careful, especially with Strigoi.

"Yes Rose, I'm doing really well with this animal blood diet. I'm under control, trust me." I loop my arm around hers and we walk into the house and go sit on the couch. Everyone we pass is just staring at us in disbelief. I don't really blame them, we are an odd pair, being mortal enemies and all. Dimitri stays outside to calm the others down and explain who she is and how she is trying to help us. Lissa, Rose Ann, Katie, Mia and Viktoria come in and sit with us, waiting to hear what Daphne has to say. Viktoria is staring at her in shock. She's never seen a Strigoi up close before.

"So Daphne, you said you had some news for us. What were you able to find out?" I ask.

"Well, I have a meeting with someone who works for the lady that I believe Adrian went to work with. I'm hoping it will be Adrian, but I don't know who she is sending. I have some secrets about Ezekiel's operations that she would like to know. The guy I'm supposed to meet is to take me to her." She says.

"Do you know her name?" Katie asks.

"Galina something." As she says this, Rose Ann gasps. "She was awakened like fifteen years ago. She's pretty powerful, and not just here in Russia. She has influence all over the world. We need to be careful." Daphne continues. I look over to Rose Ann who looks pale.

"Do you know this Galina chick?" I ask her.

"I don't know if it's the same person I knew. I'd have to see her." she shrugs. I have a feeling she is worried that it is the person she knows, whoever that is.

"Aren't you worried that this is a trap? You told Rose that you are a wanted women amongst your kind. Or, what if they see you and then decide to kill you. That's a big risk just to help us find Adrian." Lissa says. She's such the mother hen, always concerned about others.

"Getting Adrian back for all the pain he caused me is worth it. Besides, I was hoping you guys could come along with me, undercover, as back up." I think it's time I came clean about our real purpose for finding Adrian.

"Daphne, I think I need to tell you the truth." She looks at me puzzled. "We aren't searching for Adrian so we can kill him. We're trying to find him so we can heal him. His soul is trapped here inside my body and we need to find his body and put his soul back." By the look she is giving me, I think I just grew a third eye. I go on to explain everything that happened in the house the day of the raid and our failed attempt during the attack at the academy. She looks slowly at the others to see if they believe what I just told her. Then she bursts out laughing.

"I don't know what's so funny." I snap. She calms herself down and looks at me.

"I'm sorry, it's just that of all the people to be stuck with, you get that thinks-he's-god's-gift-to-women, pain-in-the-ass Ivashkov." she starts laughing again, except this time we all join her.

_"I resent that. You love having me with you, don't you Rose?" _Adrian asks.

_"Yes Adrian. It's been nothing but sunshine and daisies with you always with me." _I reply to him sarcasticly. "Now that you know our true intentions, will you still help us find him?" I ask her hoping she won't decide to just up and leave. She thinks about the question for a few moments before answering.

"Yeah, I'll still help you. I like you guys. And maybe if you can heal Adrian, you can find a way to help me." she sounds hopeful. I give her a smile and put my arm around her shoulders and give a little squeeze.

"I can't promise anything, but we'll certainly try. So, what is your plan for meeting this guy?"

"Well, I'm supposed to meet him in this club at the end of town that Moroi men and bloodwhores frequent to hook up. I'm supposed to recognize him by the purple tie he'll wear. When I see him, I'm supposed to give him a password so he knows it's me. I figured you girls can come in the club dressed as bloodwhores and help me find him and then watch my back as I talk to him. And if she sent Adrian, then we can get him right there." Not bad, needs some work though.

"I think you need to disguise yourself too. If someone recognizes you, they might want to kill you right there. Rose Ann, Katie and I will go with you since we're Dhampirs and will have no problem getting in to this place." Mia looks over to me pissed.

"I want to came too Rose. I'm ready. I can do this." she says determined. Viktoria looks at me the same way.

"I'm coming too. I know which place she's talking about and know the people that work there." That would be helpful, but she's too young to be around a place like that. Plus, Dimitri would never allow it.

"Yeah, right Viktoria. You get Dimitri to say it's okay, and you're in. Good luck with that." I tell her with a grin. "Mia, you can come. I think we need to have Jacob and Christian come too. Just in case we need some fire magic. Being Morei, they shouldn't have problem getting in. The other guys aren't going to like sitting out. Dimitri is going to be a hard sell. But I'll worry about that later." I turn to Daphne.

"What are you going to do when you meet up with this guy? Are you going to go with him to see Galina?"

"Yeah, I figure I'll call you when I get there and let you know if Adrian is there or not and if he is, tell you where I am. Then you guys come riding in and kidnap Adrian and me and get us the hell out of there. I was hoping to help you kill the bastard, but since you don't want to do that anymore, I'll help anyway. Maybe he'll need to be restrained or knocked around a bit." she says laughing. I can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm for wanting to harm Adrian in any way she can. She's kinda crazy. She fits right in with us.

"Where are you staying, Daphne?" Lissa asks. Daphne pauses for a moment.

"I'll find a hotel or something I can stay in. No worries." That does worry me. With all the the Dhampirs around this town just itching to kill a Strigoi, I don't want her to get hurt. But she can't stay with us at the hotel because it has wards around it. Then I have an idea, but I need to talk to someone first.

"I'll be back in a minute." I say as I get up and walk out looking for Dimitri. I find him in the back talking to Christian and Alex. I go up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. He turns around and puts one arm around my waist so I am now standing next to him.

"So how is Daphne doing? Did she bring you good news?" he asks.

"Yes, actually. We have a plan we need to talk to you guys about. But first we need to find her someplace safe to stay. She can't stay at the hotel because of the wards and with all these bloodthirsty Dhampirs around, I want her to stay close to me. So I was wondering if Mom would mind if you, me and her stayed here, while the others stay where they are. What do you think?" He doesn't look too comfortable with this idea, so I give him my big puppy dog eyes he can never resist. He rolls his eyes at me knowing I'll get my way.

"I'll talk with Momma and I'm sure we can work something out." he sighs. I reach up and give him a kiss as my thank you. We gather up the guys to let them know what the plan is. Jacob went over to sit next to Viktoria, but I shot him an 'if you value your life you'll sit somewhere else' look and he moved to sit by Alex instead. Dimitri just glared at him and then motioned to me to start. I went over everything we discussed and planned. As expected, he wasn't happy. But at least he had a good idea. "Viktoria says she knows the people that work there. Let's see if Alex, Eddie and I can work as bouncers or something so we can keep an eye on you ladies. Peter and Lissa can sit together at he bar, close to one of us. That way if Adrian is there and we need them, they're already there. No one is sitting out." he said sternly. Sounds good to me. The more backup the better. Then he looked over to Viktoria. "Except you. You will do your part getting us in, then you stay here where it's safe." Viktoria huffed and looked to me for help, but I agee with Dimitri, she's too young and this is too dangerous. I shrug my shoulders and mouth an 'I'm sorry' to her.

It's getting late so Dimtri takes the others back to the hotel and then grabs our stuff and brings them back here to his Mom's. The meeting isn't for another two days so we have some time to get everything together. Daphne and I talk about cutting and coloring her hair, which she isn't thrilled about, and buying new clothes for her and the others. We need to look the part and I just don't own anything that screams bloodwhore. Plus I want to go jewelry shopping for rings for Lissa to charm with Spririt like Oksana does. Momma lets Daphne and I share a room, while Dimitri takes the couch. He's isn't real keen on the idea of me alone with a Strigoi, but I have my stake with me so he relents.

"_Hey Rose, I would like to try something. Ask Daphne if I can dream walk with her. I'd like to talk with her. I know she doesn't sleep, but ask her to meditate or something to ease her mind so I can try to get in." _Adrian asks.

_"Are you sure that's such a good idea? She wants to kill you, remember?" _I tell him.

_"I know that. Maybe if I can talk to her, she'll see that I've changed adn won't want to hurt me. You'll be there too." _I talk to Daphne and she reluctantly agrees to try. I fall asleep and meet Adrian at what looks like a college campus. "This is where I first met Daphne." he explains. He sits down on a bench and concentrates on finding Daphne's mind. It takes about twenty minutes, but finally we see her walking up to us. She looks like she did when she was Moroi, no red eyes or sickly pale skin. She's beautiful. She walks right up to Adrian with a smile on her face. Then she reaches her arm back and slaps him hard across the face.

"That's for breaking my heart you self centered son of a bitch." I quickly get in between them to stop this.

"Okay, you got that out of your system. Now let him explain himself." I look over to Adrian who is has his hand cupping his now red cheek. Well, he did deserve it.

"Daphne, I just want to appologize for what I did to you. I know it doesn't change what happened, but I've changed. I'd like to start over, if you'll let me." he asks. he looks so sincere but Daphne is a bit warry. I give her nudge toward him and nod my head letting her know that it's okay. She finally agrees to take a walk with him while I stay behind to give them some privacy. I decide that I need some company so I search out for Dimitri and pull him into the dream too. He looks surprised to be here until he sees me.

"I was going to kill Adrian for taking me from the wonderful dream I was having, but since you're here, maybe we can pick up where my other dream left off." he says seductivly as he takes my hand and leads me behind one of the campus buildings far away from Adrian and Daphne. When we get to the side of the building, he pushes me against the wall and starts kissing me fiercly. I melt into him and start pulling his shirt off him as he does the same to me. The heat between us picks up as our hands roam and caress the others bodies. His touch leaves a trail of fire on my skin. I can't get enough of him. I kiss and touch every square inch of his bare skin. Eventualy, all our clothes are in a heap on the ground. He kisses along my neck and nibbles on my ear.

"I love you Roza." he whispers in my ear. His warm breath sends shivers down my spine.

"I love you too." I say breathlesly. He mouth finds mine once more as he brings me down to the ground, blanket suddenly there. We make love and curl up next to each other after we're done. Man, this is the best dream, ever.

**Thanks for reading. Review and let me know what you think.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks to all my loyal reader and reviewers. You make my day.**

**I don't own Vampire Academy, bummer.**

**  
Daphne POV**

I never thought slapping someone across the face could ever feel so satisfying. But when the face belongs to Adrian fucking Ivashkov, it feels great! It looks like it hurt too. Good. Now Rose is pushing me to go talk to this prick. I'll do it for Rose. I like her, she's got spunk. I walk with Adrian toward a fountain in the center of campus. We sit down on the edge and I wait for him to talk.

"First I need to explain something about myself you may not know. I didn't specialize in any the four elements we grew up knowing about. I'm a Spirit user. That's how I'm able to bring people into my dreams. I can also see auras and heal a little bit. I'm still learning that one." Well, I knew there was something different about him, but this is stranger than I thought. "Spirit is pretty cool but it does have some bad side effects of using the magic, such as depression and producing darkness. They way I deal with it is by self medicating with cigarettes, booze and women." I laugh when he says this, causing him to look surprised at my reaction.

"How convenient for you. 'Don't blame me for being a drunken womanizer, I'm a Spirit user.' Please Adrian, be honest with yourself and take some responsibiliy for your actions. Even if you were an earth user, you would still be drinking and partying and using women. You enjoy having sex and getting drunk. Just admit it." I tell him. I hate when people blame something else for their bad behavior. He looks at me right in my eyes as if trying to see my soul. It makes me a little uncomfortabe, but I don't look away. Suddenly he looks down at the ground and laughs.

"Yeah, alright, I love sex. But you can't blame me too much when I had women constantly hitting on me. You have to admit, I'm hot." he says with a smirk. Man he's a cocky little shit, even if it is true.

"I hear ya, but there's a difference between just having sex for enjoyment, and telling someone that you care for them and want to be with them all the time. You lead me to believe that we were in a relationship by telling me such things." He has a guilty look on his face remembering our time together.

"It wasn't exactly a lie. I did care about you, just not in the way you wanted me too. And for the record, I've only told one woman that I love her, because I do." Wow, some woman was actually able to steal his heart.

"Who's the 'lucky' lady? I ask using quotes around lucky.

"Rose." he states simply. Huh?

"Rose. As in the badass guardian that is engaged to be married to that gorgeous hunk of a man Belikov?" I ask. He nods and I can't help but laugh out loud.

"Why us that so funny?" he asks irritated. It takes me a couple of minutes to calm down and dry my eyes from the tears that were streaming down my face.

"From what I know of Rose, I bet she didn't give you the time of day. Plus, she's in love with someone else and you're stuck here watching him make her happy." I stop for a second and see the heartache on his face. "Yeah, that must really suck." I say sympathetically. He looks up at me and gives a half hearted smile. Great, now I feel bad for the sleazeball. I reach over and put my hand on his to comfort him, when I feel a shock when we touched. I quickly retract my hand and put it back in my lap. He looks at me with the strangest look on his face.

"Daphne, I really am sorry for hurting you the way I did. I was an asshole and would very much like to make it up to you. Can we be friends?" Why does he have to be so cute and look at me like that? He's looking at me with pleading eyes that I just can't resist. Why do I always end up coming back to him? Ugh, I'm so weak.

"Fine, we can start over as friends, but so help me if you hurt me again, I will rip you throat out and not even Rose will stop me, capeesh?" I tell him as I shake his hand. Again I feel the same electric pulse when we touch. Must be a lot of static electricity around here.

"Great. I'm really glad you're not going to kill me now. Maybe we can figure out a way to get your soul back too. I'll work on that. It's not like I have anything else to do. Rose makes all the decisions on what we do." he chuckles.

"So how do you plan on getting your Spirit back into your body? I don't think your Strigoi counterpart is going to cooperate." Others like me aren't known for their patience.

"I don't know. I got into her body through pushing Spirit from my dying body to hers when she kissed me goodbye. It was almost like my soul was sucked in. We tried when he attacked the academy, Rose got close enough to kiss him and I tried to push Spirit back into him, but something was blocking it. I don't know what it was or how to get rid of it." He looks so frustrated. He's cute when he's looks like this. Alright Daphne, you need to stop thinking about him like this. That's how you let him break your heart. Just friends. We're only friends.

"Maybe the problem is Rose. Maybe her soul is what pulled you in and it doesn't want to let you go. Not that she's doing it on purpose. Or your soul is attracked to hers and it doesn't want to leave. Either way, you need to break the link between you two, then maybe your soul will go back." It sounds good to me and by the way he's thinking, it must make some sense to him too.

"Possibly, but how would we break the connection?" he questions.

"I don't know. It's just a theory." I can't have all the answers.

"Hmmm, well, should we go back and find Rose and let her know we made up?" He asks with a cheesy grin on his face. I can't help but return his smile as I stand up next to him and walk back to where we left Rose. We get back to the bench and she's gone. "Now where did she run off to?" he wonders. We start walking around looking for her. We here some noise behind one of the buildings so we go to see if it's Rose and if she's okay. Adrian turned the corner and gasped. He immediately ran back to me and started pushing me away. "You don't want to see that." He tells me as moves quickly away.

"What was it?" I ask full of curiosity.

"Let's just say that Rose and Belikov are practicing for their wedding night." he says with one eyebrow cocked. Oh. Wait, on the ground? That sounds uncomfortable.

"You're probably right. Why don't you tell me what you've been doing since I last saw you." I suggest. I don't want to leave him alone when the woman he loves is loving someone else a hundred feet away. Poor guy. After talking with him, it seems he has changed from the jerk that he was when I first met him. I wish I had known that Adrian back then. I guess I should be thankful that I get a second chance to see the real him now. I hope they succeed in putting his soul back. Then I hope he finds a way to save me too.

**Rose POV**

I don't think I've ever been this happy waking up before. I love being able to pull Dimitri into my dreams like that. I'm gonna miss Spirit when Adrian gets his body back. I wonder how Daphne and Adrian got along. I didn't hear any screaming so I assume it went well. I see Daphne sitting in the chair in the corner reading Sonya's romance novels. She must be at a really good part, by the look on her face.

"Has she released his engorged member from its denim prison yet?" I ask her teasingly. She looks up from the book and glares at me.

"She's just about to, so if you don't mind, let me finish this part before we talk." she says as she gets back to the book. I sigh and get out of bed to go take a shower. After getting dressed I go downstairs to see if Dimitri is awake. He must be since the couch is empty. I smell food. I sniff the air and follow the scent of bacon and eggs. My mouth is watering when I step into the kitchen and see Olena at the stove cooking breakfast. She looks like she's almost done so I figure now is the best time to offer my assistance.

"Good morning Olena. Can I help with anything?" She must know me too well already by the look she gives me as she answers.

"That's quite alright Rose. Why don't you let Dimitri know breakfast is ready. I last saw him outside cleaning up from the party last night." If I'm lucky, maybe he'll be done with that and I won't have to help with that either.

"Will do." I say as I practically skip outside. Man I'm in a good mood. I see him putting chairs away so I grab a couple and walk to where they are being stored. He smiles at me as I hand them to him. "Good morning comrade. Have a good dream dream last night?" I ask with a big grin on my face.

"Good morning Roza. As a matter of fact, I had a fabulous dream. I hope it's one of those recurring ones that I get to experience night after night." he says as he pulls me close to him and leans down and presses his lips to mine, making my knees go weak. There was something I'm supposed to tell him, but right now, I have no idea what it is. He breaks the kiss and looks into my eyes. "I can't wait until I get to kiss my wife, Mrs. Rose Belikov." He says as he kisses me again. Just then Olena comes out to the yard.

"I knew I shouldn't have sent you out here to get Dimitri, Rose. He distracts you too easily." she laughs. "Breakfast is ready you two." she turns and walks back to the house. Dimitri looks back to me with an amused look on his face.

"She's right, you know. You are too distracting. Everytime I see you I just want to do this." I say as I reach up and kiss him again. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me in closer while I pull him down and deepen the kiss. We must have there for longer than I thought because we are suddenly startled apart by a very annoyed little sister.

"If you two don't stop sucking face and get in here and eat, it's gonna be all gone and momma says she isn't cooking any more." Viktoria screams out the door. We both lightly laugh as we pull apart and walk to the house hand in hand to eat.

After breakfast, I go back upstairs to talk with Daphne. I'm dying to know what she thought about Adrian. I walk in and she is still reading that book. I sit on the bed in front of her and just stare at her until she finally puts it down. "Are you going to stare at me all day?" she asks a little annoyed.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you still hated Adrian or not." I tell her.

"No, I don't hate him anymore. He seems to have changed for the better. He was actually nice to be around and he didn't even try to hit on me like the old Adrian would." when she said that last part, I could have sworn I saw disappointment in her eyes. Hmmm.

"Yes, he's finally maturing. We're all so proud." I say with mock pride.

_"Hey, I'm a lot more mature than you, Rose." _Adrian rebuttles.

_"We're not talking about me, Adrian. Besides I am too more mature than you." _I whine. "Hey, how about we do this again tonight. That way you can get to know each other better and I can have more alone time with Dimitri." I suggest. I see Daphne's face light up a bit, but she'll never admit it.

"Umm, I guess. If Adrian doesn't mind. Maybe we go somewhere sunny. I haven't been able to see the sun in a long time, not that I saw a lot of it before, but back then it didn't have the power to kill me. I miss it." She says.

_"Sounds good to me. How about a beach resort. You and Belikov can get down and dirty in the sand." _Adrian teases. I roll my eyes and tell Daphne about the beach. She looks exited now. Man, she really isn't like any Strigoi I've ever met.

That afternoon we all go shopping for clothes to wear to the bloodwhore house, as I like to call it, and to the jewelry store. Of couse, Daphne can't come with us but I tell her I'll get her something nice. Actually, Adrian picked out a beautiful necklace for her. It is a gold Kanji symbol for friendship on a gold chain. He has Lissa charm it with Spirit. He has a theory and wants to see what will happen when she wears it. I have it gift wrapped for him with a card that says 'To the beginning of long lasting friendship. Love Adrian.' He can be very charming when he wants to be.

_"This is very thoughtful of you Adrian. I think she'll love it." _I wish I could see his face. It's hard to tell how he really feels without seeing his reaction.

_"I feel bad about how I treated her in the past and want to make it up to her." _Is all he'll tell me_._

After shopping, Viktoria takes us to the place and introduces us to her friends. The plan is for Alex to work as a bouncer and Dimitri and Eddie are going to be Lissa and Peter's guardians, who are going to hang out at the bar. The rest of us girls are going to be bloodwhores while Christian and Jacob are Mia and Katie's escourts. Rose Ann and I are to stay close to Daphne as she meets up with her contact. I don't know how many Strigoi are going to come with him, but we have everything we need. We've been on the tour so we know all the escape routes and the basic layout of the building. There is a bar on one side and a stage on the other for the dj. In the middle is a massive dance floor with couches and tables surrounding it. On the far wall is a door that leads to the private rooms. I don't think I need to tell you what goes on in there. Ick.

"Alright, I think we've seen enough. Let's head back and tomorrow we'll get some training in before we go hunting tomorrow night. Get a good nights sleep." As we're walking out, Rose Ann pull me aside to talk.

"Hey Rose, do you mind if Alex and I use your room tonight since you're staying at the inlaws? We don't get much alone time and I thought..." I think the huge grin on my face surprised her because she couldn't finish her sentence with the odd look she was giving me.

"Yes, yes you guys can use it. Have fun." I say as I waggle my eyebrows up and down. She blushes and hits me in the arm.

"Get you mind out of the gutter Rose. We're not all like you." she says. Yeah right.

**It's getting exciting. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review and let me know how I'm doing.**


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm not Richelle Mead, and I don't own Vampire Academy.**

**Rose POV**

Tonight's the night. We're going to the club to meet Daphne's contact in hopes of finding Adrian. I'm a little nervous because there will be a lot of people there and anything can go wrong. I won't have my warning signal to rely on since I'll be close to Daphne and she's Strigoi, so I'll be nauseous anyway. We're all getting ready at Olena's house since Daphne can't go passed the wards at the hotel. Right now, the sun just went down and she is hunting, thank goodness. I sometimes forget she's a Strigoi, but when she gets thirsty, she gets that bloodlust look in her eyes and I remember how dangerous she really can be.

We girls are getting dressed in my room. I can't believe the outfits we found in town. There are so tight and skimpy, I almost feel naked wearing them. "Lissa, hand me those boots by you." I tell her as I smooth down the black leather mini skirt I just put on. My top is a purple sequined tank top that is form fitting and ends about an inch above my bellybutton. The boots are black thigh high and have enough room for a couple silver stakes and a dagger. The other girls have similarly revealing clothes, all hiding our weapons as best we can. Lissa is the only one without such hardware. Viktoria is in the room with us helping us with our hair and makeup.

"Rose, you're going to have to leave your hair down." Viktoria tells me.

"I can't because it's too easy for a Strigoi to grab it and pull me down and it will get in my way in a fight. It's safer to wear it up." I remind her.

"I understand that, but you have too many Molnija marks. It's a big tip off that you're not bloodwhore but a deadly guardian. You're supposed to be undercover, remember." Viktoria has a point. "I could cover them up with this theater make up I have." I sigh and nod my head as she gets out the concealer and starts to smear it on the back of my neck, everything but my graduation mark. Rose Ann is the only other one with marks that need to be covered, so she gets the treatment next. Just as we are finishing up, Daphne comes back looking much calmer.

"You all look like club hopping hookers." she says with a chuckle. Oh really. Just wait until we're done with you.

"Alright Daphne," I tell her. "Your turn." I go to the closet and pull out a short, pink sequined dress and brunette wig. I know she didn't want to dye her hair, so I thought this would be the next best thing. She was thrilled. We get her dressed and ready, but before we walk out the door, I hand her the wrapped box with Adrian's gift.

"What's this?" she asks suspiciously.

"It's from Adrian. Open it." She hesitates for a moment, then opens the box and gasps when she sees the necklace. She looks surprised. "He wanted to get you a something to show you how much he values your friendship. That's what the symbol means, at least that's what the sales lady told us. He had Lissa infuse it with Spirit magic too. He has a theory about something but I don't know what it is. So try it on and tell me if you feel any different." She hands me the box and I remove the necklace and put it around her neck. It looks beautiful on her.

_"Wow. Her aura just lightened up. The shadows that are usually around her because she's Strigoi have faded some." _Adrian says excitedly. I look into her eyes and notice that the red ring isn't as bright as it was, even after just feeding. My usual nausea around her has all but gone away too. Well, that's helpful. I'll be better able to feel when the other Strigoi are around.

"Do you feel any different?" I ask anxiously. She shrugs.

"I don't know. I feel a little calmer I guess, and the thirst I always feel isn't as bad." That's good, especially since she's going to be around a lot of Moroi tonight. "Thank you Adrian. That was very thoughtful of you." She says looking into my eyes but talking to him.

_"Tell her she's welcome and it looks lovely on her." _I relay the message and she smiles.

We walk down stairs to meet the guys, minus Alex who had to get there early since he's working as the bouncer tonight. We hand out the ear pieces we'll all wear to stay in constant contact. Dimitri and Eddie are dressed in their guardian uniform and Christian, Peter and Jacob are wearing the Italian suits they bought yesterday. I must say they look very handsome.

As Dimitri is helping me put my earpiece in, he leans in and whispers in my ear. "I like the outfit, Roza. You look hot!" Damn! Why does he have to do this to me when we have work to do?

"Later." is all I say. I look over to Jacob and he is looking at me as if something is wrong. Then his face brightens like he just figured something out.

"I knew there was something missing with your disguise, Rose. Your neck it too clean. You don't have any bite marks." He walks over closer. "I can help you with that if you'd like." he smirks. Has this boy lost his mind? Dimitri looks like he's about to throw the Moroi out the window.

"You get anywhere near my neck and it will be the last thing you do." I threaten. He puts his hands up in surrender and laughs.

"Joke, Rose. It was just a joke." he says backing away. Idiot.

We jump into the cars we rented and head out. I can tell Daphne is nervous so I pick her hand up and pat it reassuringly. "Don't worry about a thing. We know what we're doing and I won't let anything happen to you." She gives me a smile and nods her head.

"I know." is all she says. We get to our destination and climb out of the cars. Lissa, Peter, Eddie and Dimitri go in first, followed by Christian and Mia and then Jacob and Katie. We four left wait a bit before we go in. Just as we are about to start towards the door, a vaguely familiar voice stops me.

"I thought you said you weren't bloodwhores. Your attire and present location would indicate otherwise." I turn around to see that lanky guardian from the airport. I look past him to see his boss looking at us with a scowl on his face. He was wearing a tuxedo and silvery silk scarf. A little overdressed for this place. Instead of doing the message game we played before, I go right up to his boss to talk to him directly.

"Are you stalking us? Like I told your goon last time, we're not interested. Maybe you'll get lucky in there." I say pointing behind me to the club.

"I just want to talk to you and your sister, Rosemarie." he says a little annoyed. Whoa. How the hell does he know my name and that Rose Ann is my sister?

"Who the hell are you and why do you know so much about me?" I'm not leaving until I get some answers.

"I'll explain everything like I wanted to do last time we met. This isn't the proper place for such a discussion. If you survive your mission tonight, which I have no doubt you will, meet me at the Italian restaurant by your hotel tomorrow night. Just you and Rose Ann and I will explain everthing." I look at him for a few seconds before I burst out laughing.

"Do you really think we're stupid enough to go have dinner with a complete stranger who knows way too much about us without backup?" I ask him. I mean really, I wasn't born yesterday. He ponders that for a moment and then smiles.

"Of course, how silly of me. Please being your fiance and her boyfriend along. I have some information you might be interested in."

"I don't even know your name." I don't know what it is, but something tells me I need to hear what he has to say.

"My name is Abe Mazur. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for dinner. Shall we say at 6?" he asks. I eye him for a moment then nod my head, agreeing to meet him. "Fabulous, I can't wait." He then turns around and gets into a waiting limo with his guardians in tow. I think I just made a deal with the devil. Dimitri isn't going to be too thrilled about this.

I walk back over to Rose Ann and tell her about our dinner plans tomorrow night. She looks at me like I'm crazy but doesn't say anything. "Alright, let's get this show on the road." I tell them as we walk to the front door. Alex is standing by the door letting people in if they pass inspection. He sees Rose Ann in her outfit and his eyes go wide. Yeah, she looks hot. As he let's us through the door, I notice him give her a wink. I follow behind her but stop next to Alex and look at him with a fake hurt expression."What, nothing for me?" I ask. He just rolls his eyes and jerks his head toward the entrance.

"Good luck ladies." he says as we walk into the club. This place looks even better at night. It was pretty dark except for all the neon lights and disco ball in the center of the ceiling. The music was pretty loud too. There's a crowd of people dancing in the middle, quite close actually. We first walk by the bar and make eye contact with Dimitri and Eddie. We keep walking around looking for the Strigoi with the purple tie. I don't feel anything yet after about ten minutes of walking around, so we decide to sit on a couch to the side of the dance floor and watch from there. I'm sitting on the arm looking at the dancers when I feel someone caressing my thigh. I look up to see a Morio man, probably in his thirties looking at me with a big grin on his face.

"You're about one of the prettiest things I've seen in here in a while." He reaches up and touches my neck. "A fresh one, too. Is this your first time?" I have to fight the urge to punch him in the face as I gently move his hand away from me.

"Hands off the merchandise there pal. I'm already spoken for. My friends and I are just waiting for him. Sorry." I tell him and look away. Apparently, this guy doesn't get the hint.

"No need for that. You must be nervous, being new to this and all. Don't worry, I'll be gentle." he says in my ear as his fingers run down my arm. I feel the anger inside me starting to rise and my hands are starting to clench into tight fists. He's going to bleed soon if he doesn't go away. Luckily, Christian comes over and rescues this guy's life by interupting us.

"There you are. I've been looking for you. I brought a few acquaintances I want you and your friends to meet, darling." Christian says as he grabs my hand and pulls me off the couch. He wraps his arm around my waist and walks me and the girls to the other side of the bar. I turn my head to look over my shoulder and see the guy looking pissed. I smile and put my arm around him to and lean in close to his ear.

"Thanks. That guy was going to be walking funny at any second if you didn't come over." I tell him. I hear a few soft chuckles through the earpiece.

"I'm surprised he wasn't already bleeding on the ground by the time I got there. Way to go Rose." he says so proud. When we get to where Jacob and the others are, my warning system goes off.

"Okay, I feel Strigoi are near. Look around for a guy with a purple tie." I tell them. We all start looking around. Mia is the first to spot him.

"Over there, by the blond bimbo with the big butt." she points in the direction he is standing. Damn, it's not Adrian. Showtime. Daphne takes a big breath and starts walking toward him with Rose Ann, Mia and I close behind her. She stops in front of him and smiles.

"Dogs barking, can't fly without umbrella." she tells him. What the hell kind of password is that? It makes no sense. It works though because he smiles at her and looks her up and down, checking her out.

"You must me Daphne, the one I'm supposed to meet and take back to Galina's?" he asks. I can tell by his accent that he's american. He's a tall blonde with muscles. He was surely a Dhampir before he was turned.

"Yes, you're correct. Did you come here all by yourself?" she flirts. He gets closer to her and leans in close.

"Unfortunately, I have others with me. We can't be too careful in a Dhampir town, now can we. But I'm sure we can get some alone time if you'd like." She smiles but steps back a bit.

"I don't even know you're name." He eyes her for a second.

"I'm Nathan." Just then three guys came up behind him, looking at Daphne. He looks over his shoulder at them and turns back to talk to her. "These are my friends. You'll get to know them later. Have you fed tonight? We were just about to have a snack." That's not good. I immediately signal the girls to go into action.

"Alright ladies, let's go hunting. Lead you guy into a private room so we don't cause a scene." I whisper in the earpiece. I head over to the biggest one since I'm more likely to take him down than the others are. Rose Ann goes to one and Mia gets the one who looks like he was once Moroi. I tell Christian to stay with Mia since she is the most vulnerable of us. I take my guy out to the dance floor first and start dancing very close. Uhg. I feel so dirty doing this, but better me than some innocent girl who can't defend herself as well as me. I grind into him and get real close as we dance, trying to get him worked up so we can go to a room sooner and get this over with. He tries to lean down and kiss me but I slyly move my head so his lips end up on my cheek. No way am I kissing his undead lips. His hands are all over me, rubbing and fondling. Eew. Finally he asks if I want some privacy and I give him my man eating smile. He grabs my hand and leads me to the door with the rooms on the other side.

There are a few hallways with many rooms down them. Open doors mean available rooms, obviously. We go into one and I push him down on the bed, playfully. I climb on top of him and straddle his hips. I rubs my hands on his chest and he lets out a moan. He must not get out much if just doing that turns him on. I find the bottom of his shirt and push it up and take it off. I start kissing his neck and down to his bare chest, just waiting for him to be nice and distracted so I can stake his heart. His hands are now on my butt and I figure he's just about ready to die. While he's busy enjoying himself, I quietly move my hand down to my boot and pull out my stake. I kiss along his neck and up to his ear and whisper one last thing. "You're at peace now." I say as I bring my stake up and stab him right in his heart. I watch as the red disappears from his eyes and a tear runs down his cheek. He manages to whisper a thank you before his body goes still. "Your welcome." I say as I get off him. I open the door and lock it behind me and put a red 'X' with lipstick on the door, letting the employess know a dead Strigoi is on the other side. As I am walking out to see how the others are doing, I hear a scream coming from a nearby room. "Mia!"

**Sorry for the cliffie, but you guys know I update quickly. Did you like the password? That's just a little shout out to one of my favorite movies, Jumping Jack Flash. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I'm glad you're liking the story so far.**

**I don't own Vampire Academy, if you didn't already know.**

**Now, on with the story.**

**Mia POV**

"Alright ladies, let's go hunting. Lead you guy into a private room so we don't cause a scene." Rose says through the earpiece. I can feel my heart drop into these very uncomfortable hooker shoes I'm wearing. Oh god, what did I get myself into. As I walk over to the Strigoi I'm supposed to seduce and kill, I chant in my head. I can do this. I can do this. I see Rose take the big one out to the dance floor and start dancing really close with him. I sure hope Dimitri isn't watching. I don't think he'd like her techniques. I catch eyes with the tall, lanky one with dark hair, but I can't see the red in his eyes. It's either the lighting in here or they have contacts on. I would never guess he's not Moroi if it wasn't for the fact that the lead Strigoi pointed him and his friends out to Daphne. Okay, Mia, time to turn on the charm and flirt your ass off.

I walk up to him and flash him a smile, showing my fangs so he knows I'm a Morio, if he hasn't figured that out already. He returns with an even bigger smile. Yeah, you probably think it's your lucky day. It's common knowledge Strigoi prefer to drink Moroi blood because it makes them stronger. Sorry to tell you, buddy, but that ain't gonna happen. He leans down close to speak since I'm shorter than him and the noise in here is pretty loud. "Would you like to dance?" he asks me. Well, at least he's polite. I nod and he takes my hand and pulls me into the crowd of dancers. I see Christian and Katie dancing next to me, watching his every move. He pulls me close to him and I rest my head on his chest, all the time going over in my head all the lessons Rose taught me about stabbing the stake into the heart. I feel him bending down so his face is close to my neck, and I hear him inhale deeply. He must be smelling my blood. He must like it with the groan he makes. That one noise is enough to set my stomach flipping. I don't think I want to do this anymore, but I have to. One, too many people are depending on me. And two, how would I get out if I wanted to. 'Sorry I think I left the oven on, I gotta go.' I don't think he'd care if my house burned down, he just wants my blood.

After a few songs of us swaying to the music while he sniffs my hair and neck, he moves us in the direction of the private rooms. I think I'm gonna throw up. Come on Mia, you can do this. Rose wouldn't put you in this situation if she didn't believe in you. That's right. I'm a badass Moroi woman. I'm a Strigoi killing machine. Grrr! He pulls me into an open room and I see Christian and Katie walk pass and into the room next door to be my backup. I hope I don't need them.

I hear the door click closed behind me and I know there's no turning back. One of us is not leaving here alive. I turn to face him and he is eyeing me like I'm a big juicy steak, which for him I guess I am.

"I was planning on hooking up with a bloodwhore tonight, but you are just too irresistable." he says never taking his eyes off me. I can see the bloodlust in his eyes and I swallow hard. He reaches his hand over to my shoulder and brushes my hair back, exposing my neck. His hand goes to my hair as he grabs a hold of it and pulls my head back hard while he leans down to my throat. I fight to keep the panic that is starting to rise inside me at bay. I guess the foreplay's over and he's getting right to the point. It's now or never, Mia. I reach my hand down and pull up the hem of my dress to find the sheath holding my stake. I pull it out and wait for my opening, but as I feel the tips of his sharp fangs touch my skin, I know waiting is no longer an option. I pull myself away as much as I can considering the tight hold he has on me. I kick as hard as I can to his knee and punch his jaw with as much force as I can muster. All that did was piss him off. Man, he's like a brick wall. "I was going to be nice and let you die painlessly, but now...now you're going to know what real pain is." he says as he backhands me across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud. Son of a bitch! I let a scream escape my lips as I hit the wall. Okay, Mia. What would Rose do in this situation? Well, for one she would get back up. So get up Mia!

I get back to my feet as quickly as I can and face him. I need to distract him if I have any chance of surviving this. I steal a glance to the ceiling and see the sprinkler system. I think I can make this work. As I charge at him, I use my magic to release the water in the pipes to pour down upon us. The second he takes to look up to see what is happening, I jab my stake hard into his chest, hitting his heart. He falls down on his back, me on top of him still holding my stake as I watch the light in his eyes go out. I just notice how hard I'm breathing when I turn my head to the door to see an astonished Christian staring at me. A few moments later, Rose comes running in and sees me, soaking wet, on the floor next to the body.

"Hey Mia, can you turn off the waterworks. We don't need both of us to look like drowned rats." she says with a light chuckle. I look up and use my magic to stop the water from flowing out of the pipe. I look over to the body again. He looks so peaceful now. I can't believe I just killed him. He was going to kill me, but I fought back and killed him. I can feel a sob rising in my throat as I try desperately not to let it escape, but as soon as Rose wraps her arms around me, I can't fight it anymore. I cry into her shoulder, shaking from being wet and cold.

I then feel a second set of arms wrap around me and the wonderful scent of aftershave I have come to love. I look up and see Peter looking at me with such love and concern, my heart swells. Rose releases her hold and I turn to grab onto Peter as if I might disappear if I don't cling tight enough. He whispers soothing words in my ear as I start to calm down. I look up into his beautiful hazel eyes. "Can we go home now?" I ask. He nods his head and helps me up. He keeps ahold of me as we walk out the back door and into one of the cars that will take us to the hotel. Eddie, Lissa, Christian and and Katie go back with us. In the car, Peter touches my face where I was hit and heals the bruise forming on my cheek.

"You're one badass guardian, Mia. Strigoi around the world are going to fear your name." Peter tells me, trying to cheer me up. I just give him a little laugh as I rest my head on his shoulder. When we get to the hotel, he walks me to my room and so I can put some dry clothes on. "Are you going to be alright?" he asks full of worry. I'm not sure I am. I shake my head no as I fight to keep the tears in check. He pulls me into a tight embrace and softly strokes my hair, comforting me.

"Can you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone." he smiles and nods.

"Get dressed and meet me in Rose and Dimitri's room. I'll call and see if they can stay at his mom's tonight. I'm sure they'll understand." I reach up and lightly brush my lips against his and then go in my room to change out of these wet clothes. I walk into Rose's room and walk straight to the bed. Peter follows and climbs in and wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to him as tight as he can. I rest my head on his chest and let the rhythm of his heart sooth me to sleep. I feel so safe in his arms, like nothing bad will ever happen as long as I have him to hold on to.

**Daphne POV**

" Have you fed tonight? We were just about to have a snack." Oh crap, That's not good. I see Rose, Mia and Rose Ann walk toward Nathan's friends to help end their case of the munchies. I hope they'll be alright, but how am I going to deal with Nathan? Maybe I can distract him until we have to leave. I smile at him and walk closer so I am just inches away.

"Actually, I fed before I came. I wasn't sure if you were going to want to leave right away or not. Unless you're starving, how about we dance first. I don't want this dress to go to waste." I say as playfully as I can. He smiles as he looks at me and gives a little shrug.

"Why not." He says as he grabs my hand and leads me to the dance floor. I see Rose dancing with her guy's hands all over her. I glance over and see Dimitri scowling in her direction and Lissa trying to calm him down. Jealous much? Nathan puts his hands on my waist and pulls me close. I put my hands in his hair and gently run my fingers through the ends as I talk to him.

"So, where exactly does this Galina chick live?" I ask.

"It's about a two nights drive from here." he replies. Two nights? That's a long time to be cuped up in a car with him. Maybe I can do that meditating thing and visit Adrian. He'd be better company, I'm sure.

"That long? Should we get going then? The sun will be up in a few hours." The sooner we leave, the sooner I can find out if Adrian is there.

"Don't worry Daphne, we have a little bit of time. My boys are having a little fun and then we'll take off. You in a hurry to end this dance?" he asks suspiciously. I shake my head no with a small smile playing on my lips as I pull him closer.

"Not at all." He's cute and all, but for some strange reason, I can't help but imagine that I am in Adrian's arms. What is it about him that always pulls me in? At least I'm fooling Nathan. We both watch as Rose is lead by his big friend to the private rooms. It won't be long now until his undead heart stops beating. I just hope when he finds out his buddies aren't coming back, he doesn't assume I'm in on it. About a half hour later, Nathan sees Rose coming out of the door leading to the private rooms, alone. I feel him stiffen up when he realizes that his friend is dead if she is alive. He quickly grabs my hand and drags me out the door. I quickly pull out my earpiece and throw in on the ground, next to Alex. If Nathan finds that on me, I'm screwed. "What's wrong? Aren't we going to wait for the others?" I ask a little panicked, knowing full well what the answer's going to be. He turns around sharply and faces me.

"Did you have anything to do with that?" he asks angrily. Alright Daphne, time to lie your butt off.

"To do with what? What's going on?" I reply, confusing lacing my words. He looks me in the eyes and must believe me because he takes me to a black car with dark tinted window and gestures for me to get in. I respond and he takes off, just the two of us. I repeat my earlier question as he is speeding off on the highway.

"There were hunters in there. It wasn't safe for us anymore. They got the others." he tells me without taking his eyes off the road. I put a shocked expression on my face, but inside I'm beaming with joy. They did their part, now I need to do mine. I just hope I'm on the right track and Adrian really is with Galina.

**I know it's a little short, but I hope you liked it anyway. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Thanks for the reviews. Let's keep them coming 'cause they make my day!**

**I don't own Vampire Academy**

**Rose POV**

I ran toward the scream as fast as I could. I see Christian and Katie standing in front of an open door, shocked faces looking in. I push past Christian to see Mia on the floor next to a motionless body being rained on. What, rain? I look up and see that the sprinkler system is going off. I don't know if Christian is responsible of if Mia did it herself. I ask if she can turn it off because I'm wearing leather and don't want to ruin it. What? I like this skirt. As soon as the water stops falling down, I go and hold Mia tight because she looks like she's going to lose it at any minute. She starts trembling and sobbing into my shoulder. Her first kill. They are always the hardest. Suddenly Peter is on her side putting his arms around her to comfort her too. He must have heard everything in the earpiece and came running. I'm sure Dimitri was thrilled with that. I pull away letting him take care of her. He helps her up and they go home with the others except Dimitri, Alex, Rose Ann, Jacob and me. I figure we'll stay and clean up.

I walk back out to the club and see there is still lots of people having fun and hooking up everywhere we look. Thankfully, we didn't cause a disturbance. I see Nathan and Daphne leaving out the front door. Good luck Daphne. Rose Ann walks up beside me and I get a good look at her for the first time. She has a huge gash across her arm where the Strigoi must have scratched her.

"You do realize you're bleeding, right?" I ask her I point to her bloody arm. She looks at it and looks a little pissed.

"That son of a biscuit. He ripped a hole in my top too." she says as she examines the rip in the sleeve of the blouse. Damn, I wanted to borrow it too. I spin her around looking for any other injuries since she didn't even know she had that obvious one. All I find is a bruise forming on her back. Now I know she must have felt that. "He was a fighter." she says. "I'm just glad I'm a better one." Yeah, me too. Alex, Dimitri and Jacob meet us at the bar. Dimitri gets his cell phone out and calls the alchemist to come clean up our handywork. As soon as he hangs up, he phone rings with Peter asking if he and Mia can use our room. Why does everyone want our room? Do they think it's got some special mojo? I tell them no problem and tell Dimitri we're staying at Mom's tonight. He doesn't mind since Daphne isn't with us now and he won't have to sleep on the couch.

After the alchemist finishes cleaning up the bodies, the owner of the place comes over to talk to us. "Wow, you got three of them, huh? Thanks for keeping my patrons safe. If you ever want a job here in security, just let me know." I thank him for the offer and we get ready to leave. I don't see Jacob until I look over at the other end of the bar and see some girl flirting with him. She looks like the poster child for bloodwhores, hooker clothes, tons of bright make up, big hair and bruises all along her neck. To his credit, he isn't encouraging her, in fact, he seems to be trying to get rid of her as nicely as he can. I wonder if Viktoria has anything to do with that. This girl just doesn't take the hint, she's all over him. Feeling sorry for him and getting really annoyed with this chick, I go to rescue him. I walk over and pull her arm off him.

"Excuse me honey, but he's with me and we're leaving now." I grab Jacob's arm and start pulling him with me to where the others are waiting for us. Suddenly I'm jerked back by someone's hand on my shoulder. I spin around and get a punch to the jaw. Oh no she didn't! I go to beat the crap out of her only to be held back by Jacob. He's a lot stronger than I thought he was. The stupid girl decides that she isn't done and wants to talk smack.

"What's wrong? Gotta have your boyfriend hold you back so you don't have to try to fight 'cause you know you'll lose? I tell you what, I'll give you a freebie. One shot. Let's see what you got, skank." Jacob starts laughing but not letting up on his hold of me.

"Man, you are one dumb broad. I'm holding her back because if I don't she'll most likely kill you." She doesn't seem to believe him.

"I'm sure. I've taken on tougher chicks than her. Let her go. I want to see what she can do." Jacob just shrugs his shoulders and lets me go. I lunge at her only to be stopped again, this time by Dimitri.

"Roza, we don't hurt innocents, no matter how much they deserve it." He says as he give the bloodwhore who hit me a death glare. He leads me out the front door with the others behind us and the dumb chick following us, talking shit the whole way. Man, she is really testing all of our control. I see Rose Ann out of the corner of my eye clenching her fists and trying to control her breathing. Just as we are about to climb into the car, we hear the bitch scream. I turn to see a Strigoi holding her from behind by the neck. Her eyes are wide as looks to us for help. The Strigoi is the first to say anything.

"Nathan called and asked me to help him with a little problem he had with some hunters. He descibed you over the phone, but I thought you'd be taller and tougher looking." he says to me. I guess the getup I have on doesn't do much for my badassness. Then, five more Strigoi come out of the shadows and surround us. Man, I'm tired and I just want to go home and sleep in a nice warm bed wrapped up in my man's arms. Is that too much to ask?

"Ugh!" I say thoroughly annoyed. "Why does everyone want to mess with tonight?" I ask to no one in particular. I look over to the one holding the girl. "She's not with us, just a bloodwhore so you can let her go." I say as I casually walk up to them. Apparently he doesn't care because he tightens his grip around her neck and she lets out a wimper. Not so tough now are ya? I pull one of the stakes out of my boot and stop right in front of him. "I'll give you two seconds to let her go, or I'll kill you. Well, I'm gonna kill you anyway, but if you do as I say, I'll make it quick." He just laughs so I shrug my shoulders and look back at Jacob who is only a few feet away from me and nod. He shoots fire from his hand and gets the guy in the head and lights up his hair. He let's his grip of the girl go and I pull her away from him as I send my stake straight into his heart. One down, five to go. The girl is sitting on the ground, stunned.

A female Strigoi growls at me and jumps at me knocking me off balance, but I manage to stay on my feet. We dance around each other, both hitting and kicking the other when I start to feel power radiate through my body. Adrian must be giving me some Spirit juice. I give her a hard punch to the gut sending her flying into the brick wall of the club. While she sits there trying to clear her head, I stake her heart. I look around to see if anyone else needs help. Dimitri is finishing off one with one at his feet, and the rest have been taken care of by Alex and Rose Ann. We quickly move the bodies into the alley so that the club goers don't see them. Then Dimitri calls the alchemists, again. To clean up our mess, again. I'm sure they're sick of us by now. I see the girl that was harassing me still on the ground. I walk over to her and offer my hand so she can get up.

"You wanna fight me now?" I ask her once she is on her feet. Her eyes go wide and she shakes her head. "Fine. Go back in but don't mention this to anyone. Don't need to start a panic." She just nods and walks back in the door. What a night, I'm exhausted.

The next morning I wake up in the warm arms of Dimitri. I guess now would be a good time to mention our dinner plans. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, me, you, Rose Ann and Alex have been invited to dinner with this Abe Mazur guy at six tonight." I tell him casually. I feel him stiffen when I mention his name.

"How do you know Abe Mazur?" he asks.

"I don't really. He's seems to know us though. We first saw him at the airport in Italy and then again last night. He really wants to talk to Rose Ann and me. I told him we wouldn't go without you and Alex with us and he said okay. He says he has some information we want. Maybe it's about Adrian." I say in one breath.

"I don't like this. Abe Mazur isn't someone I want us to be associated with. He's a dangerous man." he tells me.

"Well, all the more reason to go meet him and see what he wants. We don't need to get on his bad side then." He thinks about this and nods in agreement. We start to get out of bed and I hear Dimitri gasp when he sees the huge bruise on hip. That frickin' female got a good kick in. "It's fine. It barely hurts." I reassure him. He just shakes his head and leans down and kisses me gently.

"You're so brave, Roza." he says against my lips.

"Only because of you, comrade." I reply.

Six o'clock came by pretty fast. Before we came we checked in on Mia to see how she was holding up. She seems to be doing well. Peter has been there supporting her in any way she needs. He's so good for her and vice versa. He's opened up so much more since they've been together. I'm so happy for them. We pick up Rose Ann and Alex and head to the restaraunt to meet Abe. Rose Ann looks nervous and has poor Alex's hand in a death grip. Apparently she's heard of this guy too. Am I the only one who has no clue who this Abe guy is? The hostess seats us at a big table way in the back, giving us some privacy. Abe is already seated, waiting for us. His two guardians are standing close by watching for any danger. We all give them a nod in recognition since we are all part of the same brotherhood of guardians.

"I'm glad you could make it." he says as he stands up as Rose Ann and I are seated first. He may have a bad reputation, but at least he seems to be a gentleman. We order our food and Abe decides to get the conversation started. "From what I hear, you had quite the exciting night last night. Nine Strigoi are dead because of your group. Good work." The fact that he knows so much, so fast makes me nervous.

"How do you know that? Are you spying on us?" I asks getting paranoid. He just looked at me with a small smile.

"Let's just say I have connections." Okay, that's vague.

"Can you tell us what you want with Rose Ann and I? What information do you have that we want?" Let's get to the point of this shall we?

"Well, I guess the best way to tell you is to just say it. I am your father." Uh, what? You could knock me over with a feather, I was shocked. I look over to my sister and see the same look of disbelief on her face. Alex is equally stunned and Dimitri, well he looks pissed. After all these years of never knowing anything about my father, he just shows up and blurts it out. This is so unreal.

_"You know Rose, this explains a lot about you." _Adrian says jokingly.

I don't know why, but I can't help but start laughing hysterically. The whole table looks at me like I just lost my mind.

"What is so funny, Rose?" Abe asks curiously.

"I was just thinking that with Janine as my mom and you as my dad, I never had a chance. You two created the perfect sarcastic, short tempered badass guardian. Wow, this is unbelievable." I said, still laughing. Dimitri holds my hand under the table, trying to calm me down.

"Why are you revealing yourself now? You had eighteen years to tell her who you are." Dimitri asks. Abe looks at both of us girls in the eyes before responding,

"In Rose's case, Janine didn't want Rose exposed to my lifestyle. She felt it would be better for you to be in a safe environment of an academy. As for Rose Ann, Galina found out about Rose's mother and I and took Rose Ann away. I didn't want to cause any more distress in their lives, so I watched from afar." That was a bombshell. I look over to my sister who now has a guilty look on her face.

"Galina is your mom?!" I practically scream. She tries to shush me but I can't believe she kept this from me.

"I told you I don't know if it's her or not. I'll have to see her." she says. Okay, I think I'm on information overload now. I look around at everyone wondering what else I'm going to get hit with.

"Is there anything else I should know? Dimitri isn't my cousin or anything is he? Because if he is, don't tell me, I don't want to know." I say as I put my head in my hands trying to let all this soak in.

"No, I assure you, you aren't related, yet." Abe says. I look up at him with relief. Our food comes and we pretty much eat in silence except a few questions here and there.

"So Rose, when is the big day?" Abe asks about the wedding. I shrug as I stuff a ravioli in mouth.

"Lissa and Olena are taking care of the details. I think we're going to wait until we get our friend back though." I don't want to give him too much information about Adrian. "Hey, I don't suppose you know where Galina is now do you? Or if she's the same one we're looking for?" I figure he seems to know everything, maybe he'll know this.

"Yes, I'm sorry Rose Ann, but the Galina you are looking for is your mother. She has an estate outside Novosibirsk. If you'd like, I can get a meeting with her, as one of my associates, if you'd like." When he said he had connections, he wasn't kidding. Even with Strigoi, which sends a cold shiver down my spine.

"Well, thanks Abe, but we don't know if that will be necessay yet. We have a friend on the inside already and we'll wait for her to let us know if we should even bother." I eye him carefully to see what his reaction is. He nods his head in understanding and takes a sip of his wine. We finish dinner and dessert and get up to leave. He hands Rose Ann and I his business card with his personal cell number on it, something few people are privaliged of getting. He shakes hands with the guys and gives us ackward hugs and then leaves with his guardians in tow. I turned and looked at Rose Ann and pulled her into a big hug. "Well, that was interesting."

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. It lets me know if I'm on the right track, so keep 'em coming.**

**I don't own Vampire Academy, if you didn't already know.**

**Adrian POV**

It's been two nights since I saw Daphne walk out of the club with that blonde Strigoi. I've been trying to find her mind and pull her into a dream, but no luck. Not knowing if she's okay is driving me insane. I don't really know why I keep thinking about her. Maybe because she's risking her safety just to locate my evil half. Why she's doing that, I haven't a clue anymore. At first it was to see me killed, but now that she knows that isn't the main objective, why go through all this trouble to help me? Does she actually care about me? Is she the one Dimitri's crazy grandma was telling me about? Well, that would explain a lot.

"Hey Adrian, any luck finding Daphne?" Rose asks as she pulls up a beach chair next to me. We're sitting on the beach that I last took Daphne to the last time we dream walked together. She likes the sun since in reality it is lethal for her.

"Nope." I answer popping the 'p'. I don't look at her but keep staring out at the deep blue ocean. All the emotions going through me right now are so confusing. I feel guilty because she could be hurt or worse and I have no idea how to help her. I feel happy thinking about the last time she was here on this beach and she burried me in the sand and put two big mounds of sand over my chest so it looked like I had boobs. When she's here with me, it's like she is her old self, except ballsy-er, like Rose. You would never guess she was really Strigoi. I wonder if her animal blood diet is the reason for the difference. I also feel hopeful. When she put the necklace on I picked out for her that Lissa charmed with Spirit, I saw an immediate change in her aura, like her soul was trying to shine through. Maybe we can heal her too.

"Well, have faith, Adrian. Maybe she just hasn't gotten to Galina's yet. Siberia is pretty big and it's only been two days. Give her a little more time, and then if we still haven't heard from her yet, I'll call Abe." she says with a grimace. That cracks me up. After eighteen years of having no idea who her dad is, she finds out he's a very powerful and very intimidating mob boss type guy. I feel bad for Dimitri. Not only is he going to have Janine Hathaway for a mother in law but Abe Mazur as a father in law. If he ever screws up with Rose, he's a dead man.

"You're right. I just can't help but worry." Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rose look at me with a big ass grin on her face. I turn to look at her and raise an eyebrow waiting for her to explain the look.

"You like her don't ya?" she says. I can feel the blood rushing to my face as I look away hoping she didn't notice. Of course, she sees. "I think you looove her. You want to kiiiss her." she sings. I think I need to change the subject before my face looks like a tomato.

"So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" She doesn't say anything for a few minutes, still looking at me with that stupid smile on her face, but she doesn't say anything else about it.

"Well, we're having a small Molnija ceremony for Mia. Some of the guardians in town, including Abe's, are coming. The rest of us are getting our marks earlier. Three for me, two for Dimitri and Rose Ann and one for Alex and Mia." she tells me while counting on her fingers.

"Keep this up Little Dhampir and you're going to run out of room on that pretty little neck of yours." she rolls her eyes at me.

"Well, then they start on my back and go down to my ass." she laughs. I don't doubt she'll need to. I give a little laugh too, but go back to staring at the water and thinking about Daphne. Rose takes my hand and just holds it while she also looks out at the horizon. "She'll be okay, Adrian." is all she says. No wonder she's my best friend. She knows exactly what I'm thinking and tells me what I need to hear. I just hope she's right.

**Rose POV**

As I'm brushing my teeth, getting ready for my day, Mia comes walking in. Does she even knock? No, of course not. Good thing both Dimitri and I are decent. "S'up Mia?" I ask after I spit in the sink. She walks past me and takes a seat on the edge of the tub.

"I'm a little worried about today. Is it gonna hurt? When they make the mark?" I give her a little smile and sit next to her and take her hand and pat it gently.

"Oh hell yeah. It hurts like a son of a bitch." I say nodding my head up and down wildly. Her eyes go as big as saucers and she pales even more than she already is. I start laughing and she calms down and scowls at me.

"You're a real bitch, Rose. You know that?" she says as she gets up and starts stomping out the door. I get up and catch her arm, still chuckling.

"I'm sorry. It's not that bad. They're pretty small, see?" I lift my hair and turn around so she can see the Molnija marks on my neck. "I'll be right there with you, and so will the other guardians. We've all been through it." I see her relax and nod letting me know she'll be okay.

"Can Peter come?" she asks.

"No, sorry. It's something that we share only with our fellow guardians, because we are all part of the same brotherhood, so to speak. We all put our lives on the line to protect Moroi, and it's something special that we keep among us. It's special. Does that make sense?" she nods. I walk her to the door and tell her to spend some time with Peter until we leave.

We get to Baia's Guardian Headquarters and tell the guardian at the desk our names and appointment time. He takes us back to a large room with a stool at the front and about fifteen folding chairs set up in the middle. There is a long table along the side with a white cloth table cloth and some party food I had sent over from the local deli. The tattooist, Boris, sets up his equipment and motions for one us to sit down on the stool. Rose Ann went first, followed by Alex, Dimitri and then me. After I was done and bandaged, I hopped down and went over to Mia, who was nervously sitting in the corner. A few guardians started showing up for her ceremony and were talking to Dimitri, who seems to know everyone.

The guardian that was at the front desk when we came in, walked up to me holding a form with a confused look on his face. He looks over to Mia and then to me. "Is she Mia Rinaldi?" he asks pointing to Mia.

"Yeah, why? What's the problem?" I ask him politely.

"She's Moroi, not a guardian." he says with attitude. Great, just what I need to deal with. I put my hands on my hips and glare.

"She's training to be a guardian. She made the kill, she gets the mark." I tell him.

"Oh really, exactly at which academy is she training to be a guardian?" he smirks, thinking he's got me. This is really pissing me off.

"She's a novice at St Rose's, now give her the damn Molnija before I take that needle and tattoo 'Loser' across your forehead!" I shout. Everyone in the room goes quiet and listens to our little disagreement. Mia doesn't move from my side or say anything. This guy doesn't say anything but matches my glare. He reminds me of Stan back at St Vlads. I step closer to him, letting him know I'm not backing down. Finally he gives up and tells Boris to go ahead. I take Mia's hand and lead her up to the stool. All the guardians in attendance take their seat and I go sit in the front row next to Dimitri. He holds my hand and leans down to whisper in my ear.

"I think we still need to work on your people skills." I look back over to him.

"Why? I got my way, didn't I?" He shakes his head and smiles at me.

"Oh Roza." We all watch as Mia sits still and gets her first Molnija mark, first of many. I'm so proud of her, I feel a tear run down my cheek thinking about all that we've been through together. Being enemies, Spokane and then training her to be a guardian. She reminds me of myself. Poor thing. When Boris is done and bandages up her neck, I run up to her and give her a big hug. I don't say anything, just hold her. I finally release her and Dimitri also gives her a hug. I know he's proud of her dedication to reach her goal. All the other guardians also go up to Mia and welcome her to our guardian society. Not one seemed to object to the fact that she isn't Dhampir. We go over to the table of food and fill up our plates and socialize and eat. I talk with Abe's guardians and try to get them to spill some juicy info on my newly found dad, but their lips are sealed. They probably don't want to end up at the bottom of the Ob river in concrete shoes.

Talking with the others, it seems our little group is becoming well known in the guardian community, mainly because of the Moroi with us. The general census is that having Moroi help in the fight is welcome. Anything that can keep more guardians alive is good.

We get back to the hotel and the others embrace Mia just as we did at the ceremony. They all understand that it's not necesarily something to celebrate, but to recognize. I go to Lissa's room to talk wedding stuff when my cell phone rings. "Hello."

"Rose, this is Daphne." she whispers through the receiver. "I found Adrian." Holy crap!

"Where are you? Are you okay?" I ask excitedly. Please let her be okay.

"I'm at Galina's estate right outside Novosibirsk. I just got here and I saw Adrian when Nathan introduced me to Galina. I think he recognized me, but he hasn't said anything yet. I'll try to be available to visit Adrian in a few hours. I need to hunt first." she sounds nervous.

"Adrian will be thrilled to know. He's been so worried about you." I tell her.

_"Thanks Rose." _Adrian says sarcastically.

"Really? Tell him I'm alright, but hurry and find me. I want to see the sun again, okay?" she sounds excited now. I think she might be falling for Adrian too. Huh? A Strigoi in love? Who knew?

"He knows. I'll see you later then. Be careful." I tell her as I hang up. I tell Dimitri and the others about the call. Adrian doesn't think he can pull Daphne in and everyone else, so we decide to just pull in Dimitri and of course me when we talk with Daphne. I can't believe she did it. Now we just have to go to Novosibirsk, which Dimitri informs me is a two day car ride. Ugh, not another road trip.

**I hoped you liked it. Thanks for reading and please review.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Vampire Academy, not mine.**

**Daphne POV**

Riding in a car with Nathan is an experience, one that I never want to relive. The man doesn't understand what silence means, he never shuts up! Worse case of diarhea of the mouth I've ever come across. That's probably how he gets his victims. He talks until they get so bored they beg for death. Hehe. I'm surprised no one has killed him, yet. If it wasn't for the fact that I need him to get me to Galina's, I would leave him stranded at the next rest stop. Speaking of which, he pulls over to a gas station.

"Gotta fill up and get a bite to eat." he jokes. I roll my eyes and get out of the car to stretch my legs. I'm getting thirsty and my control is starting to wane. The gas station is out in the middle of nowhere, so my best bet is to run out to the field and see what I can catch for dinner.

"Hey Nathan, I'm going to take a little run. I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes." I tell him. He isn't really paying much attention to me, but eyeing a pretty red head filling up her car.

"Yeah, yeah. Twenty minutes. Have fun." he says to me as he smiles at her. I look over at her and she's flirting back with him. You would think that the fact he's wearing sunglasses at night would be a tip off that he's not all there. I'd warn her but, if she's stupid enough to follow him, she deserves it.

I get back to the car after finding a fox and a couple gophers. At least it will tide me over for a while. I look around and see Nathan coming back from behind the station, wiping his mouth. He jumps in and we take off before anyone notices the body. "Redheads are my favorite flavor." he laughs. What an asshole.

"Maybe you should move to Ireland then." If I'm lucky. He laughs and then starts talking to me about why he has such a preference. I should've kept my mouth shut. I just close my eyes and think about Adrian. He better be there or I'm going to go postal.

Finally, the torture proves to be worth it when we finally get to our destination, Galina's estate. It is the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. She has a huge maze that goes around the entire property. I guess it's some weird security system. Can you say crazy? We finally get through that ridiculous monstrosity and we see a beautiful mansion. At least four stories high. Ezekiel had nothing on Galina. We walk through the front door into a huge entryway with a huge vaulted ceiling and an elaborate chandelier. The whole place just screams money. There was a Strigoi sitting at a desk at the entrance, most likely securtiy. I wonder exactly why they need so much protection? Are they getting ready for war? Well, this is going to make it a little more difficult for Rose to get here.

Nathan leads me down a hallway to a set of french doors. Opening the doors I could see filled bookshelves that reach all the way up the the high ceiling. On the far side of the room was a beautiful old fashioned fireplace with a red sitting chair in front of it. As we walk in, a woman rises from the chair and comes over to us. This must be Galina. She's very beautiful. She was obviously a Dhampir before whe awakened, tall and curvey with brown hair and brown red-ringed eyes. Nathan introduces us and I hold my hand out to her. She cautiously eyes me up and down and then shakes my hand.

"You must be tired from your trip. Why don't you go freshen up and we will meet later to discuss business. Nathan, show her to her room." As we leave the room and start going up the staiscase, I see him. At the top of the stairs looking down on me, Adrian. My heart skips a beat when I see him, but then I remember this isn't the Adrian that is my friend. This is the evil shell that we're looking for. He's looking at me intently. I still have the dark haired wig on that Rose gave me. Maybe he doesn't recognize me, which would be a little disappointing considering how close we were not that long ago. As I reach the top I can't help but look him in the eyes. A flash of recognition seems to cross his face and he smiles at me, but says nothing. I glare at him because I still hate him for what he did to me. I walk down the hall and stop in front of a door Nathan is unlocking. This must be my new home for a while. I walk in and it's pretty basic. It has a bed, dresser, couch, flat screen, closet full of clothes and your average bathroom.

"Here is the combination to your lock. If you're thirsty, the kitchen is on the first floor on the left of the stairs. There are some bags of blood to hold you over until we next go to the city to hunt." He shuts the door behind as he leaves. I quickly get out my cell phone and call Rose.

"Hello."

"Rose this is Daphne. I found Adrian." I whisper. You never know if the room is bugged with all the security they have around this place.

"Where are you? Are you okay?" she asks excitedly.

"I'm at Galina's estate right outside Novosibirsk. I just got here and I saw Adrian when Nathan introduced me to Galina. I think he recognized me, but he hasn't said anything yet. I'll try to be available to visit Adrian in a few hours. I need to hunt first." I say as I look around the room for any microphones, not finding anything yet.

"Adrian will be thrilled to know. He's been so worried about you." she says. I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. He's been worried about me. That thought warms my undead heart.

"Really? Tell him I'm alright, but hurry and find me. I want to see the sun again, okay?" I can't wait to see Adrian again. The real Adrian and not the his Strigoi version haunting these halls.

"He knows. I'll see you later then. Be careful." she hangs up and close my phone and put it back in my purse. This wig is starting to itch and bug the hell out of me. I take it off and throw it on the bed while I undress and head to the bathroom to take a shower. I take off the necklace and leave in on the bureau so I don't lose it. After I clean up, I wrap a towel around myself and go to the closet in the room to see if I can find something decent to wear, only find that I'm not alone.

Adrian is sitting on the edge of my bed looking at me with desire in his eyes. "Why are you here?" I ask him not really wanting to know with that look he's giving me.

"I came to ask you the same question. Are you still so hot for me that you'd travel halfway across the globe just to get to me?" he smirks. That urge to kill him is starting to fight it's way back.

"No, I came here to get as far away from you as possible. I thought you went to Florida to take over Ezekiel's business." I start to back up until I hit the wall as his gaze gets more and more intense.

"Well, you thought wrong. It seems we just can't get away from each other." he says as he gets off the bed and slowly walks toward me. He stops just inches away from me and his eyes are dark with lust. "I think the universe is telling us that you are mine." he grabs my face with both hands and smashes his lips to mine. I try to hold strong and not respond to the movements of his lips, but I falter. He has always excelled in this department. I think about Adrian and me talking and playing at the beach in our dreams when I'm hit with the realization that this is not him. I push him away and shake my head.

"No, I'm not yours. Leave." I say forcefully as I point to the door. He doesn't move for a few moments, just looking at me with a smirk on my face.

"That's not what your body says. You want me. You always have." he leans down to kiss me again, but this time I stop him before he connects.

"Go." I tell him. He shrugs and starts walking toward the door, but before he walk out he turns around.

"We'll finish this later." he promises and then shuts the door. I sink down the wall and sit on the floor, head in my hands. Oh my Adrian, I hope you find me tonight in our dreams.

I get dressed in a beautiful blue silk dress from the closet, and walk down to the kitchen, praying they have something other than human blood. I open the fridge and see bags and bags of type O, type A and such. Not one says mountain lion or grizzly bear. Great. I wonder how hard it will be to sneak out and go hunt to local wildlife. Maybe I won't have to sneak. I walk to the entry door and tell the guy standing guard that I'm going for a walk to check out the gardens. He just shrugs like he could care less. I guess going out is less important than coming in. The place is lovely with lots of flowers and fountains. As I walk, I take notice of all the security cameras and devices I notice so I can relay the information to Rose. In the distance I hear a noise. Rabbit. I follow it stealthfully and manage to grab it. Not the best, but bearable. I look around for another hour and find a few more. Satisfied, I go back to the house and go to my room to try to meet with Adrian and Rose.

I put the necklace back on and sit on the bed crosslegged and close my eyes. I relax my mind and body and concentrate on Adrian. I'm not sure how long I wait, but suddenly I feel myself being pulled out of my body. I open my eyes and find myself on the same beach I last saw my Adrian. I really missed him and look for him all around me. "Adrian, please come out." I yell. He's got to be here somewhere. I turn around to the sound of footsteps and see him, gorgeous as ever. My heart speeds up as I look at him in his board shorts and bare chest. I smile and run up to him and throw my arms around him. I think I surprised him, but he slowly wraps his arms around my waist and holds my tight. It feels so good to be in his arms, I don't ever want to leave. He eventually pulls away just enough to look at me.

"Are you okay?" he asks worried. He does care about me. I can see it in his eyes as he looks at me now. I give him a smile and nod.

"I am now." I say as I put my head down on his shoulder and enhale his wonderful scent. He pulls me in closer and holds me. We stay like that for a while until we're interupted by Rose and Dimitri clearing their throats behind us.

"Why don't we get this little meeting over with so you two can continue with what you were doing." Rose says. We all go over and sit at a picnic table that just appeared out of nowhere. I sit next to Adrian, close enough so our knees can touch. His being so near fills me with such peace, I feel so safe, I never want to leave. I tell them about how to follow the Ob river from the city and to cross an old wooden bridge to get to Galina's estate. I let them know about the maze and the tight security all around the place.

"Sounds more like a fortress. What is she hiding in there, the Hope Diamond?" Adrian asks sarcastically. I just shrug.

"I have no idea. Haven't been there that long to find out." I tell him. Rose looks like she wants to ask me something, but is hesitant. I just look at her and raise my eyebrows telling her to spill it.

"Have you talked to Strigoi Adrian? Did he recognize you?" I wonder how much of my encounter I should tell them.

"Yeah, he seems to think I'm stalking him. He's got quite the ego." I say as I look over to my Adrian. Both Rose and Dimitri are looking at him too.

"What? That was the old me. You're looking at the new and improved Adrian Ivashkov." he says motioning his body with his hands like he belongs on the Price is Right. We all laugh and then Dimitri starts asking more specific questions about the whole layout inside and out. I give him as much information as I can. When I'm done telling them everything I know, Dimitri tells me that they will leave in the moring and they should be there in less than two days. They have enough people that they can drive straight through with few stops.

"Try to stay low and be safe Daphne. We're coming to get you and Adrian back as soon as we can." She stands up and pulls Dimitri up with her. She points to a little shack by the beach. "We're going to spend some time over there. I would suggest you stay away." she says with a smile and a waggle of her eyebrows. Adrian rolls his eyes and waves them goodbye as Dimitri picks her up and carries her to their little love shack, leaving Adrian and I alone.

"What would you like to do?" he asks me. Hmmm. I'm not sure if I'm ready to tell him what I'd really like to do with him. Too soon, so I settle for playing in the ocean. He grabs my hand and holds it while we walk down to the blue water. Of course it's the perfect temperature. We walk in about waist high for me and just look out to the horizon. He lets go of my hand and my heart drops until I feel his arm around my waist, pulling me to his side. I lean my head down onto his shoulder and sigh. This is a perfect moment, so romantic. I never thought Adrian had it in him. He rests his head on the top of mine and I move my arm to wrap around his waist. "I'm going to do everything I can to get us both back so we can do this in the real world. I promise." he tells me as he pulls me around to look me in the eyes. He has the most dazzling green eyes I've ever seen. I can't seem to find my voice as I gaze at him, so I just nod. Slowly he leans down ever so close to me. I can feel my heart racing in my chest and my breathing pick up the closer he gets, until finally our lips meet. Now, I've kissed him before, but this time it feels different, so much better. It's like an electric current is running though my body, leaving every nerve ending on fire. He kisses me so gently as if he thinks he might hurt me. I run my hands over his muscles covering his stomach, then chest, up to his shoulders and caressing his neck. I pull him closer to me deepening the kiss. His response is immediate. The kiss becomes more passionate as his hands move along my skin to my back, pulling me closer to him. We finally break away and rest our heads together, trying to catch our breath.

"Please, don't hurt me again." I plead. I don't think I could take it again. He shakes his head.

"Never." he says as he leans in kisses me again. I feel myself start to slip away and I grab onto him as tightly as I can, trying to stay with him as long as I can. "Please stay safe. We'll be together soon. I promise." he whispers in my ear before I open my eyes and find myself back in my room, Strigoi Adrian staring at me.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were dreaming. But that couldn't be, could it?" he asks suspiciously. He knows about dream walking since he used to do it before he awakened, which makes me nervous. I don't like the way he's looking at me, like he can read my mind and is trying to figure out all my secrets. I get up off the bed and go sit on the couch and turn on the tv, looking for something to watch. "I know you're up to something. It's just a matter of time before I figure it out. And you know I will." he says as he walks out the door. Crap! They better get here quick.

**Thanks for reading and let me know what you thought by reviewing.**


	23. Chapter 23

**I'm not the wonderful Richelle Mead, therefore I don't own Vampire Academy.**

**Rose POV**

The next morning after talking with Daphne, we gather everyone together to let them know what the plan is.

"Is there anyone here who is good with disarming security systems?" Dimitri asks. No one says anything. Of course. Dimitri thinks for a moment before getting out his cell phone and handing it to me. I take it, confusion clearly all over my face. I give him my 'what's this for?' look.

"Call Abe and see if he can hook us up with someone who can help us with the security system." he says. Oh yeah, let me call a man I just met and ask him to help us committ a crime. Sure, no problem. I throw the phone back at him.

"It's your idea, you call him." He throws the phone back at me with a smile.

"He's your dad. not mine." I look over to Rose Ann and throw the phone at her.

"Call your dad and ask to borrow a security guy." I tell her. She just glares at me and throws the phone back at me. The phone has suudenly become a hot potato.

"Your the leader of this group. You call." God, what a baby. I catch the phone and look around the room, but all eyes are looking elsewhere. I look back over to Dimitri, who shrugs and smiles.

"Fine I'll call and see if he knows anybody who can help." I huff. Why do I always have to do the dirty work? I get the business card out he gave me at dinner the other night and dial the number.

"Hello."

"Hi Abe, This is Rose, uh Rose Hathaway, your daughter." I stutter.

"Yes, I know who you are Rose. What can I do for you?" he asks with some amusement in his voice.

"Well, I was wondering if you could recommend someone to help us out that is good at disarming security systems?" I ask sheepishly.

"And why do you assume I would know someone like that?" Oh great, I just insulted him. He's probably going to put a contract out on me.

"I.. uh," I stammer. I hear him laughing on the other end. Just what I need, a mob boss dad with a sick sense of humor.

"Don't worry, I know someone who would be happy to help you. When do you need her?"

"Well, we're leaving here in a couple of hours and heading to Novosibirsk. We plan on getting there by tomorrow evening." I hope whoever she is will be available.

"Fine. Pick Sydney up at the airport tomorrow evening. I'll call later with the details. Good luck and keep your sister safe, and tell her the same thing." I can't help but laugh at that.

"Will do Abe. And, thank you." I tell him honestly. Maybe Abe being my dad won't be so bad after all. I hang up with him and hand the phone back to Dimitri. "We're to pick up one Sydney at the airport tomorrow night." We all go to our rooms and pack up all our stuff and load it into the two SUVs sitting in front of the hotel. I look at the cars and groan. This. Is. Going. To. Be. Hell. The last road trip almost ended up in murder. Hmm, maybe I can get everyone in one car and I can drive the other by myself. I have a feeling no one will go for that though.

Everyone is standing on the curb, waiting to load into the SUV. "Okay, have all the Moroi been to the feeders before we get going because you probably won't get another opportunity until we get to Novosibersk and I'm not volunteering?" I yell like I see the moms do in the movies. I see everyone nod their heads. "Does anyone need to use the bathroom before we go?" I look everyone in the eye and everyone shakes their head, except Jacob who I see running back into the hotel. We all load into the cars, girls in one and the guys in the other because Lissa wants to talk wedding and the men want don't want to listen.

We get going and everything is going great. Oh, spoke too soon. The back tire blew and Rose Ann struggles to keep the car from going off the side of the road. She manages to pull over safely and she, Katie and I get out to inspect the damage. Yep, tire, flat. I look over to the other two ladies wondering which one of them is going to change the tire and of course they are both looking at yours truly. Ugh, why me? You would think that the guys who were ahead of us would come back to help us, but no. Sometimes I'm not too fond of women's lib. I find the spare and proceed to get the jack out when a car full of college age men pull over behind us. Yes! I bet I can get one of them to change the tire for me. There are four of them and they all get out and walk over to me. "Looks like you could use some help." one of them says. I give him my best stop-your-heart smile and nod.

"Are you offering your tire changing services?" I flirt shamelessly. I get a dazzling smile of his in return as he steps closer to me.

"Of course, if you help." he flirts back. This could be fun, so I accept his help. I let him jack up the car and take the lug nuts off. He pulls the tire off and hands it to me. I hand him the spare and he puts it on. Then he motions me over so I can finish securing the tire on. He's squatting real close behind me while I work on the tire. I can feel him breathing on my neck. When I'm done I turn my head to tell him to lower the car and he is inches from my face with a big smile on his face. "You can let it down now. Thanks." He gives a little laugh and lowers it and pulls the jack out as I stand up. The wind blows my ponytail over my shoulder, exposing the marks on my neck, and I hear gasps behind me. I turn around to shocked faces. "What's wrong?" I ask. The one that helped me change the tire answers for the group.

"You're a guardian." he says. I take a closer look at them and finally notice that they're dhampirs, not human.

"Yeah, so?" Why is it so hard to believe I'm a guardian? Is it because I'm a girl or because I'm pretty?

"It's nothing. We've just never seen anyone with that many Molnija marks before, and a battle star. You must be really good." One of the other ones says.

"This is nothing. You should see my fiance's marks. I'm catching up though." I thought they were going to pass out right there. It was pretty amusing looking at their faces.

"Are you all going hunting? How many are there? Can we come with you?" I get bombarded with questions. Just then, my cell phone rings. I look at the caller ID and see it's Dimitri. Well it's about time he calls to see if we need any help.

"Hey."

"Rose, where are you?" he asks.

"We got a flat tire and ran into some guys who were more than happy to help us out and change the tire for us." Maybe he'll feel a little guilty for not even noticing we weren't following them anymore.

"Are you getting back on the road now? I'll pull over and wait for you to catch up." he tells me. I tell the girls to get back in the car and then turn my attention to the guys.

"Sorry to cut this short, but we gotta get back on the road. Thanks for helping. That was real nice of you." I say as I get back in and we take off. We finally catch up to the guys and we drive for another few hours before we get to our first stop. We all get out to stretch our legs while the guys fill up the cars. We walk into the little store and look around. I spy some super soakers on the shelf and get an idea. I grab the guns and go down another isle and find a big bottle of really cheap perfume and take them up to the counter. I have the other ladies stand as look outs so the guys don't know we're up to something. We manage to sneak our purchases back to the car and full up the supersoakers with water and perfume. This stuff smells so flowery, like an old lady, it makes me nauseous. We notice that the guys left their car and are now using the restroom or buying food so we take our positions, hiding behind gas pumps and other cars. Some people give us strange looks but I put one finger over my lips asking them to be quiet. A few start to chuckle knowing what we're doing.

"Wait for my signal. I want as many as possible close together to keep the element of surprise." I whisper to them. I see Eddie, Alex, Jacob and Christian walking together back to their car. Not far behind them, Peter and Dimitri are talking and walking towards us too. "Now!" I shout and we all jump out from our hiding spots and start soaking the guys with the stinky water. Lissa chases Christian who trips over Jacob trying to get out of the line of fire.

"Hello boys." Katie says as she sprays them good. Mia gets Peter while Alex gets totally drenched by Rose Ann. Eddie is hiding behind an old guy. Katie goes on one side while Lissa takes the other. The man makes it back to his car leaving Eddie without cover. He puts his arms up in surrender, but gets double blasted instead. I get Dimitri because I think the other girls are afraid to get him wet. He looks pissed as I soak his shirt.

"Roza. you're going to pay for that." Dimitri fumes. Uh oh. I might have gone too far. I start running back to the car but he cuts me off so I turn and run the other way. I see the guys that helped us with the tire pull into the station. They all get out and see me running toward them. I run behind them and try to hide from Dimitri. They look at me confused.

"See that really big guy with the wet clothes?" I ask and they nod. "Don't let him see me. I need to get back to my car, can we walk that way?" They start to laugh when they notice my water gun and agree.

"Rose, I know you're here somewhere. You're not to get away with this." he says as he looks around trying to find me. The other girls have locked themselves in the car but the now soaked and smelly guys surround the car, waiting for me to get back. Shit! I borrow a cell phone from one of the guys keeping me hidden and call Rose Ann who is at the wheel.

"Rose Ann, start the car." I tell her. She does and Alex backs away thinking she's going to take off. I give the phone back and ask another favor. "Okay, I'm going to run for the car, but I'm giving you this gun so that if I get caught, they can't use it against me. Do. Not. Let. Them. Get. It. Got it?" They agree and I hand one of them the gun and get ready to run. "Thanks again guys." I say as I take off for the passenger seat. Just as I break away from my hiding spot, Dimitri sees me and chases me. I'm almost there. Suddenly I feel two strong arms grab me from behind and tackle me to the ground. I start laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. "Hey comrade, is that a new cologne you're wearing?" He scowls at me and then picks me up and throws me over his shoulder.

"Since you think this is so funny, you get to ride with us." he then opens the door and puts me in the back seat. I try to jump out but the rest of the guys get in and block my way. They shut and lock the door and take off. Oh god, that stuff smells so bad. It would've been funnier if I got away with it. Even with all the windows rolled down, the car still reeks.

After many, many hour of riding in a car with obnoxious guys, we are almost there. Abe called and gave me the gate number where Sydney will be waiting for us. I make my way to the passenger seat after Dimitri decided to forgive me and I get out the map and locate the exit we need to take. "We need to get off at exit 116 to get to the airport." I tell him.

"That can't be right. We just past exit 908. Check again." he bosses.

"Um, I know what I'm talking about. I have the map and it says 116 to the airport." I set him straight.

"Rose, you don't know how to read Russian. How can you be certain that is the correct exit." Because it doesn't take a genius to read a map. Duh.

"I know how to read numbers and symbols and it clearly says that we need to take 116." I start to raise my voice in frustration.

"Rose, if we're supposed to take that exit, then we are going in the wrong direction. Read it again." he sounds like he's also on the verge of yelling. He is really getting on my last nerve.

_"Little Dhampir, you're holding the map upside down. You need exit 911." _Adrian corrects me. I turn the map back around and notice that he's right. I feel so stupid.

"Take exit 911." I tell him quietly. He looks over at me and smirks, knowing he was right.

"Are you sure? You don't have it inside out now do you?" he teases. I glare at him and he just smiles as he keeps driving. We get to the airport and find the gate. I grab Alex because I'm still mad at Dimitri and we go to get Sydney. We get to the gate and see one person waiting, a human. She's about my height with cropped dark blond hair and business clothes. I was expecting someone, I don't know, geeky. She looked more like she belonged in a sales meeting. I walked up to her and extended my hand.

"Are you Sydney?" I ask her making sure I'm not going up to the wrong person. She stands up and hesitates before taking my hand.

"Yes. You must be Rose. I was told you needed some help with a security system." She scrunches up her nose and shakes her head. "Did you bath in perfume? You know, a little goes a long way." Oh good, Abe sent a commedian. I notice as I'm looking at her she has a familiar gold tattoo on her cheek. She's an alchemist. Well, that's good for us but I don't think she's going to like this assignment at all.

**Okay, we're getting closer to getting Adrian. Things are gonna get exciting now. Review and let me know how I'm doing.**


	24. Chapter 24

**I don't own Vampire Academy, duh.**

**There are a few different POVs in this chapter. It just worked out that way. Enjoy.**

**Rose POV**

We walk Sydney to the waiting cars, Alex carrying her bags. She and I get into the car with the girls since I'm sick of the smell in the other car. We get to the hotel and trudge upstairs. "Sydney, I got you your own room since I figured you wouldn't be too comfortable rooming with us." I could see the appreciation in her face as I show her which room is hers. "Let's all get some rest since I know we're all exhausted. Adrian will try to get in touch with Daphne tonight and we'll get together in the morning to formulate our plan." Everyone nods and goes into their rooms for the night. I enter our room and go straight to my suitcase to get ready for bed. I'm still a little miffed at Dimitri for the little argument we had in the car so I plan to just jump in bed and go right to sleep. Apparently he has other ideas because he wraps his arms around my waist from behind me and starts planting little kisses along my neck and shoulders.

"Roza, are you ready to christen the room? I figure we could start in the living area, then make our way to the bathroom and eventually end up in the bed." He says as he turns me around in his arms and kisses me passionately, or at least tries to. I'm not helping. He pulls away and looks confused. "What's wrong? This is usually your favorite part in staying in hotels." He's right there. But right now I'm still a little mad and am not in the mood.

"You know, I didn't appreciate you making fun of me with the map earlier." I say as I grab my night clothes and take off for the bathroom. He grabs my arm and pulls me back to him. He puts a finger to my chin and lifts it up so I am looking into his eyes.

"I'm sorry Roza. I didn't realize it upset you so much. You know I would never say anything to hurt you." I can tell by the look on his face that he was truly sorry. Normally I would forgive him right away and get to business, but tonight, I think I'll have a little fun.

"Yeah, sorry doesn't change anything. You really hurt me." I say as I turn away and run into the bathroom and lock the door. I pretend to cry as get undressed. I hear Dimitri on the other side of the door trying to talk to me.

"Roza, please come out. I'm so, so sorry. I'll do anything you want, just come out, please." He says over and over. I stay in there a little longer, making him sweat. When I think he's had enough, I open the door and walk out in nothing but my birthday suit. Dimitri's eyes go wide as does the smile on his face. "Does this mean you forgive me?" he asks, practically panting. I give him a look that says I'm thinking about it as I walk up to him and press my body against his.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready to forgive you. Now get out of those clothes and let the make-up sex begin." he quickly undresses and picks me up and takes me to the bed. He leaves a trail of kisses down my body starting at my jaw and going down my chest and to my stomach. I let a moan escape as I enjoy every touch.

_"I'm outta here"_ Adrian says. I'm actually surprised he stayed as long as he did.

_"Alright, see you later. Try to find Daphne and we'll be there soon." _Dimitri does something to me that sends shivers throughout my whole body. _"Well, maybe not that soon." _I say as Dimitri continues to ravish my body.

**Adrian POV**

Oh God, they're at it again. They're like rabbits, those two. Well, I need to find Daphne anyway. I hope she's alright. I want to take her somewhere new, so I create my grandmother's garden since it's special to me. I sit in the soft grass and concentrate on her, her beautiful face, the way her hair feels like silk, and how her eyes are as blue as the sky when she is here and not red. Thankfully it doesn't take too long for her to appear. I get up and walk to her as soon as I see her. My heart starts racing as I pull her into my arms and press my lips to hers. She tastes so sweet, I never want to break away. I know she likes it too by the way she runs her fingers through my hair and pulls me closer to her. After a few minutes I pull away to catch my breath. I look into her eyes and smile. I am so close to getting her for real, I can't wait. I just hope everything works out right. I hold her hand and we walk around the garden talking about anything and everything. After about an hour, we sit down together on a blanket, she is between my legs resting her back against my chest as I wrap my arms around her. I lean down and rest my chin on her shoulder.

"Are you nervous about what's about to happen?" I ask her. She doesn't say anything for a moment, but nods her head.

"Yes, I think Strigoi Adrian suspects something is up. He caught me last time I was here. He's been watching me closely. I had to lock myself in the bathroom to be here tonight." I stiffen as she tells me this. We need to get her out of there as soon as possible. A few minutes later, I see Rose and Dimitri walking hand in hand towards us. They sit down in the same position as Daphne and I, facing us. Daphne gives us more information she has been able to gather. Tomorrow night, many of the Strigoi are going into the city to hunt, but Adrian isn't going. He just went tonight so our best opportunity is upon us. Daphne says she can distract the front guard long enough to get us passed the first set of security cameras. I don't ask how she plans on distracting him, because I really don't want to know. We decide to get there one hour after sunset, giving the Strigoi time to leave the estate

We finish our talk and we all get off the ground and stand. Rose walks over to Daphne and pulls her into a big embrace. "Thank you for everything Daphne. You don't know how much this means to us. Be safe and we'll be there before you know it." she whispers just loud enough for me to hear too. "Well, it's almost time to wake up, so we'll let you two say goodbye." Rose says as she gives me a wink before walking off with Dimitri.

"I wish we didn't have to go yet." Daphne pouts. She looks so cute when she pouts. I lean down and kiss her bottom lip that is sticking out. She smiles and kisses me back, wrapping her arms around me. Just as I'm deepening the kiss, she vanishes right our of my arms. I start to panick and try to bring her back, but I can't find her. She must have been awoken. Oh, please let her be okay.

**Daphne POV**

I love being held in Adrian's arms. He makes me feel so safe, I never want to leave. I'm getting nervous knowing that they will be coming soon to get Adrian and I out of this place and I'm afraid that someone is going to get hurt, or worse. But kissing Adrian right now, I can almost forget everything that is going to happen, when all of a sudden I am brought back to my bathroom floor. Someone is banging on the door, trying to get in. I stand up and unlock the door and open it to find Adrian staring at me. The red eyes remind me that this isn't my Adrian as fear fills me. He grabs my arm and pulls me out into the bedroom. "What's going on with you Daphne? I've been calling you for the last fifteen minutes. You dreaming again?" I can't let him know I'm in contact with Rose and Adrian so I give him my best I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about face. I don't think he buys it completely but changes the subject. "Galina wants to talk to you." he says as he walks out the door, expecting me to follow.

We walk into the library and he leads me to a chair by the fireplace, where she is waiting. I sit facing her and wait for her to start the conversation. She keeps her face blank, showing no emotions at all. "Are you finding everything you need here, Daphne?" she asks.

"Yes, thank you." I say a little nervous. She's a lot older and stronger than me and I know if she wanted she could kill me with little effort. Her expression turns colder as she leans forward in her chair.

"Well then, I was wondering why then you are conspiring with Strigoi hunters?" Oh shit! I am speechless but I shake my head and stammer out an answer.

"I-I don't know w-what you're talking about." I look over to Adrian and he has that damn smirk on his face. He must have talked to Galina about his suspiscions.

"Nathan said that when he picked you up in Baia, some hunters killed his companions and the one he described sounds a lot like a guardian that has been following Adrian around. I don't think it's a coincidence, do you? And then the strange behaviors, feeding off animals around the gardens and sitting for hours in a dream-like trance? I don't like it." I try my best not to let my fear show through as I answer her.

"Hunters tend to kill first and ask questions later, so how would I still be alive if I encountered one, no less work with one. As for my behavior, I don't want to kill innocent people, so I choose to feed on animal other, I am just meditating, a habit I developed before I was awakened. It helps me control the bloodlust." I tell her with a straight face. She looks at me for a moment and then dismisses me with her hand. I quickly get up and walk out the door. I look over my shoulder and see her whispering something to Adrian. He nods and follows me back to my room. I have a feeling she didn't believe me. I wonder how much this is going to complicate the rescue plans.

"Aren't I a lucky man. I get to follow you around for the next couple days until Galina feels assured you aren't a threat." He says as we reach my room. He grabs my arms from behind me and pulls me back against his body. He leans his face down and runs his cheek along mine and stops with his mouth next to my ear. "I know a way we can spend our time."He whispers. I close my eyes tight and try to think of a way out of this, but I can't. He pushes me into the room and shuts the door behind him. He slowly walks toward me, lust clearly in his eyes. I back away until I hit the bed behind me. Not good. He reaches me and runs his hand up along my arm until he reaches the strap of my dress and starts pushing it down. Something inside me snaps, and rage consumes me. I reach back my arm and thrust is forward, hitting him right in the face with as much force as I could muster. He stumbles back, blood coming out of a cut on his cheek. Wow, I can't believe I did that. Unfortunately for me, that just pissed him off. "You bitch!" He yells as he backhands me across my face and I go flying across the room and slump down to the floor. Oh man, that hurt. I stay on the floor, knees to my chest with my face in my hands. I sit there waiting for him to come over and do god know what to me, but instead he walks out of the room, slamming the door on his way out. I let out a big sigh of relief. Part of me wants to go baracade the door so he can't come back in, but I don't want to raise any more suspiscions than I already have. I get myself off the floor and go sit on the couch. I turn on the tv and wait for Rose and her posse to come get me out of here. Please, let them hurry.

**Rose POV**

I wake up and see the love of my life sleeping peacefully. I hope everything goes according to plan tonight. If anything happens to him, I don't think I would survive it. He is my everything, my life. I snuggle closer to him and softly kiss his lips, nose, eyeslids, cheeks, anything I can reach. I must have woken him up because I see a smile creep across his face. "Good morning, Roza." he whispers and he holds me tighter. He glances upward and laughs softly. "I think the Queen will make us pay for the broken headboard." I look up at the damage we did last night and smile.

"It was worth it. I think we need to fight more often just so we can make up." I tell him. He rolls his eyes at me.

"Oh Roza, I don't like fighting with you, but we can pretend and make up anyway." he says as he leans down and presses his lips to mine. I respond by moving so that I am now on top of him, increasing the intensity of the kiss, when my cell phone rings. I groan as I reluctantly get off of him and reach for my phone. I don't recognize the number but answer it anyway.

"This better be important because you just interupted ..."

"I don't need to know what you were doing with my grandson. I need to talk to you, alone Roza." Yeva says. I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, knowing that she wouldn't call unless it was important. I get off the bed and grab Dimitri's shirt off the floor and put it on and walk into the bathroom.

"Okay, what do you need Yeva?" I ask nervously.

"Your soul is in the way of freeing the Moroi. It can not move forward because your soul is blocking it inside you. You need to let your soul go before his can return." What the hell does that mean?

"How do I do that?" A little more information would be great.

"You'll know when the time comes." Why does she have to speak in code?

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes, don't tell Dimka, he will stop you and you will all be in danger if that happens. Good luck, Rose." she says and hangs up. Great, now I have to lie to Dimitri? I hate this. I shut my phone and walk back into the bedroom. He is sitting up in the bed, leaning on the poor broken headboard when I walk over and sit next to him.

"Who was on the phone?"

"Oh, that was just Abe, wanting to know if we got Sydney and to wish us luck." I lie. He seems to believe me takes my hand in his and kisses it. He must notice that I'm getting nervous about this whole thing because he starts rubbing little circles on my hand trying to sooth me.

"Don't worry Roza. Everything will work out according to plan. Tomorrow morning we will have Adrian and Daphne back to their normal selves and I get you all to myself again." God, I hope he's right.

**Okay, next chapter is the mission. I hope it goes well. Show me some love and review and let me know what you think.**


	25. Chapter 25

**I am so excited! This is part 1 of the rescue mission. Not sure how many chapters it will take. I hope everyone makes it out alive.**

**Not Richelle Mead, don't own Vampire Academy.**

**Rose POV**

Nobody is saying much as we all get ready to leave to get Adrian and Daphne out of the Strigoi hornets nest they're in. I keep trying to calm myself down, but after what Yeva told me this morning, I can't. Adrian hasn't said a word about it even though I know he heard it too. Maybe he's busy trying to figure out what the heck she meant by me having to let my soul go. It doesn't sound good, so I try not to dwell on it or I'll never be able to leave this hotel.

Everyone is dressed in black to better hide in the darkness, even though Strigoi have excellent vision and will probably have no problem seeing us anyway. At least it makes me feel better. We gather up all the weapons we can carry, stakes, guns with silver bullets, daggers and anything Sydney needs to disarm the security system. When we told her where we were headed, I thought she was going to pass out.

"Sydney, I won't let anything happen to you. Dimitri and Mia are going to be by your side the whole time." She doesn't look all that reassured, but goes along with us anyway. The plan is pretty basic: Dimitri, Mia, Jacob and Sydney go in first and disarm the alarms, Alex, Rose Ann, Christian and I go in and find Adrian and Daphne and get them out while Eddie and Katie stay in the car witih Lissa and Peter. I gather everyone together to do one last check. "Have all the Moroi been to the feeders?" They all nod. "Do we have back up blood in case someone needs a recharge?" Mia holds up the bag with the extra blood. I can just see Jacob using all his energy lighting up a Strigoi and then getting weak on me. I look around to all of my friends' faces and see determination mixed with fear in their eyes. I'm sure my eyes reflect the same emotions. "Let's do this!" We all climb into the cars and head off, not quite knowing if we'll all return.

We found the Om River and followed the dark lonely road and old wooden bridge Daphne told us about. The entire area is so silent, like every creature calling this place home knows that something big is going down. The trees surrounding Galina's estate comes into view and I know now, there's no turning back. We park the cars in the cover of the trees and quietly exit their shelter and move toward the hedge maze, barrier number one. Luckily, Sydney had the idea of searching Google Earth, found the estate and we figured out how to get through the maze quickly. Score one for the internet. We all have our ear pieces in but agree to only speak when absolutely necessary. Dimitri and his team move ahead to gain access to the front doors. The only thing I can do is sit and wait for his signal to move on. I hate waiting like this, I tend to overthink everything, what if Adrian knows and is setting up a trap, what if there are more Strigoi than we thought, what if someone falls. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, I hear Dimitri whisper in the ear piece to go. Instantly my heart goes into overdrive as my team begins to head toward the house knowing that Sydney did her job. That doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Underestimating Strigoi will surely lead to one's death, not something I'm ready for. I move like the super ninja I am and lead my team up the steps to the front door.

I have Christian on one side of the door and myself on the other. I open it and Christian stands ready to fry any undead creature that dares stop us from entering. Luckily, there is no one standing in our way. We creep in and stick to the walls, taking in our surroundings. The entryway is really big and spacious with a huge staircase in the middle and hallways on either side. I see Daphne on the side with Dimitri's team by the front guard desk. Upon closer inspection, I see a dead Strigoi lying on the floor by the station. One down, who knows how many more to go. Sydney gives me a thumbs up letting me know the alarms are all shut off. Since I don't see any other Strigoi, I assume they don't know we're here yet. At least I hope that's what it means.

I mouth 'Adrian' to Daphne asking her where he is and she points to the hallway on my right. Okay, now to do what we've been working towards for months, getting Adrian. I lead my group down the hallway, peeking in each room as we pass. Thankfully, they're all empty. If I wasn't so focussed on getting Adrian and getting the hell outta here, I might have enjoyed all the beautiful artwork displayed throughout the mansion. Cultured Strigoi, who knew? Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if they were stolen because of their worth, not beauty. We get to the last door at the end of the long hall and pause before opening it. I look over to Rose Ann, Alex and Christian to see if they're ready. We all inhale a big breath and I turn the knob. I figured opening the door slowly would be kinda stupid since they would hear us and just be waiting for us to come in. So I slam the door and step inside, stake in my hand ready to attack. But what I see before me, sets every nerve on edge.

The room looks completely empty, aside from the books and furniture. We cautiously enter the room, looking everywhere for any signs of danger. As soon as we get to the middle of the room, the door slams and about twenty Strigoi come out of their hiding places and surround us. Shit! We are so screwed. There are just too many for Christian to flame by himself. As I look around the room I finally see him, Adrian. He is smiling at me in a way that makes my skin crawl. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't want to kill him. I hear the door behind me open and when I look back, the rest of my team are being lead in by more Strigoi. At least they're all alive. Even Daphne is being dragged in and thrown on the floor. Well, at least we have our other fire user with us. If worst comes to worst, we'll go down fighting. "Circle up." I whisper. Automatically, we all move so that Lissa, Peter, Sydney and Daphne are in the center with the rest of us forming a circle around them, facing outward toward our enemy.

The woman standing next to Nathan, that Strigoi that brought Daphne here, moves toward me. "You must be the famous Rose Hathaway, the Chosen One. What a joke. To think that you, a mere bastard child can bring down my empire is beyond amusing." she says with a laugh, the others following along. Okay, I don't get the personal attack with the whole 'bastard' thing, but whatever. "I'm going to especially enjoy killing you for what you did to me, or rather what your bloodwhore mother did." she says with venom dripping off every word. Ah, now I get it. I know she's referring to Abe leaving her for my mom, but that's hardly fair. Of course I can't keep my mouth shut.

"Hey, don't blame me if you're not good enough to keep your man at home." Not smart, Rose. She came at me so quickly I thought I was a dead woman, until I saw a wall of fire spring up in front of me, haulting her approach. I never thought I'd say this, but thank god for Jacob. She backs away, glaring at Jacob. When she is far enough back, he slowly lets the flame die, but stays alert in case she tries that again. Instead, she starts walking around our group, looking at everyone as if appraising their worth. When she gets to Rose Ann, she stopps dead in her tracks. I'm guessing this woman is Galina and she just recognized her daughter. Her face became even angrier than before and she looks back over to me. She is giving me a look that could burn me from the inside out, if she had such a power, as she walks back over to me. She doesn't get too close with Jacob holding a ball of flame in his palms as a warning.

"You. You brought her here!" She. Is. Pissed. Why is she blaming me for everything?

"She came on her own. She's a fully trained guardian and volunteered for this mission. She knew what she was getting into. She knew you were here." I say as evenly as I can, not letting her know she scares me. She looks over to Rose Ann as if asking for confirmation. Rose Ann holds her chin up and nods.

"I can't let you go on like this, mother. I'm going to set you free." Rose Ann tells her without a single doubt in her words. Galina cracks a small smile at her daughters statement.

"Well, dear daughter, you can try." She looks over to Dimitri and smiles. "And Dimitri, good to see you again. It's been too long. You will be an excellant addition to our little 'family'." She spits the word 'family' out like it's the most absurd concept every created. The thought of her turning Dimitri into one of them causes rage to consume me. I could feel the darkness and Spirit Adrian was sending fill every cell of my body. I was tired of talking, I wanted to start kicking some Strigoi ass, starting with Galina.

_"Adrian, go full power." _I said as I lunge at Galina with everything I have.

_"That's too dangerous Rose." _Adrian warns.

"Just do it!" I scream out loud. Apparently, that was taken as the battle cry for both sides, because all hell broke loose. I didn't stake Galina, but shoved her hard out of my way. I see Rose Ann and Alex start to fight her, so I go after the easier kills. I take down one, two, no problem. This Spirit boost is fantastic, the Strigoi don't know what to do with me, I'm that fast and strong. Most of them don't even know what hit them. One even starts to run away from me but I grab his hair and pull him back and ram my stake into his heart. I finished off the ones around me and turn to see my team fighting bravely. Christian has a ring of fire around our Spirit users while Jacob is sending bits of fire at Strigoi close to a guardian, allowing them to kill it. I start to run toward them to help when something hard hits my head. Oh shit, shit, shit, that hurts. I fall to the ground, grabbing my head with my hands, trying to dull the pain. I feel warm liquid all over my hair and realize I'm bleeding, a lot. I try to stand up, but it feels like the room as become a Tilt-O-Whirl and I fall back down. The pain in my head is killing me. I can feel the blackness start to overcome me, but before I completely blackout, I see a pair of red eyes staring at mine.

"Little Dhampir, this is going to be fun."

**Rose Ann POV**

Holy crow! We're trapped! There are like twenty Strigoi coming out of the woodworks. They knew we were coming, but how? Just then the I hear more footsteps behind me as the rest of our group is shoved into the room. Daphne is actually thrown on the floor, looking terrified. "Circle up." I hear Rose whisper through the earpiece. We manuever ourselves around the Spirit users and the human since they can't easily defend themselves. I look at all the red-eyed faces glaring at all of us. I use all the strength I have to keep the tremors I feel building up from showing. I look to my left and see the man I have completely fallen in love with, Alex. He must sense me staring because he looks over at me and mouths 'I love you'. I smile and return the gesture. Just his presence gives me strength. Finally after a few tense minutes of the stand off, a woman moves toward Rose. Oh goodness, it's my mother. I knew she was here, but to actually see her in person, with red eyes and sickly pale skin, I think I'm gonna be sick. She hasn't aged a day since she turned, so she only looks a couple years older than me now. Truely bizarre.

The way she's talking to Rose, she really doesn't like her. Of course, my hot headed sister can't keep her trap shut and insults her. Smooth move, sis. Luckily, Jacob is quick with the fire and manages to fend my mom off. Instead she starts to move around and look us all over. I keep my eyes on her, wanting her to see me, to realize who I am. As soon as our eyes meet, she stops. She knows me. Instead of addressing me, she goes back to Rose and screams at her as if I'm still a child. She must still think of me that way since I was a child when she changed. She looks over to me to see if what Rose said is the truth. "I can't let you go on like this, mother. I'm going to set you free." I tell her honestly. And I will. Seeing her like this, knowing what she's done for the last fifteen years, it's going to end tonight. She doubts me. That doesn't really surprise me, she's surely fended off many guardians to still be alive today. Alex looks at me and nods, letting me know that he's there to help me. Between the two of us, I know we can take her down. It saddens me know that she'll be really dead, but knowing her soul will be at peace keeps me focused.

After my mom mentions turning Dimitri, something snapped in Rose. I could almost see waves of hate radiating off her. So quickly she lunges at Galina and sends her flying in my direction. Alex takes the initiative and attacks. But my mom was also a guardian in her former life and knows how to fight, and fight well. Both Alex and I are fighting her together and she's holding her own. If I wasn't the one she was swinging at, I'd almost be proud of how well she fighting. In the middle of the fight, she gives me a warm smile, like she's proud of me. That one little gesture causes me to pause for just a second, one that she takes full advantage of by striking me and sending me onto the floor on my back. Faster than lightening, she on me, going for my neck. I scream and see Alex moving to stake her from behind when she reaches back and knocks him away. It's over, I'm dead or worse, she'll turn me. I lay there, waiting for her bite when I feel heat over me. I open my eyes to see the front of her clothes covered in bright orange flames. Instinctively, I grip my stake tight and plunge it into her heart while she is trying to pat the fire out. I keep my hand on my stake as I look into her eyes as the red slowly fades away and the brown eyes I knew from my childhood returns. She manages to give me one last small smile before all life leaves her body, for good. Her body collapses on me, bloody and scorched. I push her off and roll over to get onto my feet to help kill the others.

I look around to see who needs help when I see Adrian picking up a motionless Rose off the floor, her head bleeding. I start to run after him and get Rose away from him when a familiar Strigoi jumps in my way. It's the one from the club, Nathan. "I don't think so, she's ours now." he says as he strikes out at my head. I dodge his blow and return one of my own. I have to hurry and finish him so I can get to Rose before he tries to hurt her. I can't let another family member become one of them. I take my stake and manage to scratch him across his face, creating a deep gash and ear piercing screech. I fake like I'm going for the other side but change direction and stab the stake deep into his heart. Gotcha!

Alex walks over to me, obvioulsly tired and puts his arm around my shoulder. "Are you alright?" I nod but frantically look around the room for Rose. All the Strigoi are dead on the ground. I see Lissa and Peter healing some injuries from the others and Jacob downing a bag of blood like it's Gatorade. Dimitri is is laying on the floor, unconscious with Lissa kneeling next to him, healing him. He doesn't know Rose is missing yet. She isn't the only one, I don't see Daphne anywhere. As soon as his eyes open and he sits up, I can see him looking for her. I run to him to end his searching.

"Adrian took her and ran that way." I say pointing to a hidden door in the bookcase. He practically runs me over sprinting in the direction of door. The terror in his eyes let's me know he's thinking the same thing I am. Adrian is going to awaken her.

**So how was that? Don't forget to review and let me know what you think.**


	26. Chapter 26

**I'm sure you're all as anxious as I am to find what is going to happen to our favorite guardian. So let's get this show on the road.**

**Oh, I don't own Vampire Academy, just so you know.**

**Daphne POV**

The sun has just set and a bunch of Strigoi are heading into the city to feed. One of the females, Nadia, tries to get me to go along. "Come on Daphne, we're going to some clubs Moroi men like to frequent. We can have a little fun with them before drinking." she says with excitement. The part of me that is terrified about what is going to happen here very shortly wants to go with her. But I think about Adrian and maybe finding a way to be with him, and I know what I have to do.

"No thanks, Nadia. You go have fun. Though, if you find a nice handsome blond playboy, I wouldn't mind if you brought him home for me." I laugh, trying to keep her from getting suspicious as to why I don't want to join her on the big hunt. She laughs along and waves goodbye as she and the others leave. I look at my watch and realize Rose and her group are going to be here shortly, so I position myself by the front guard manning the security cameras. Luckily the one on duty is Ralph, and he has been trying to get in my pants almost as much as Adrian has. Even though it sickens me, I need to put on the old Daphne charm and distract him when the time comes. I sure hope Rose appreciates everything I do for them.

I slowly walk towards Ralph, smiling, and make sure he sees me doing so. He sees me and gives my body the once over all guys to do pretty women. When I get to him, I stand behind him and lean against the wall, forcing him to swivel around to face me. Now his back is to the security monitors, but I have the perfect view. My plan is to flirt with Ralph until I see Rose's cars approaching and then swallow my pride and make out with him until they come in. "I'm bored Raphie, when does you shift end?" I ask bumping his leg playfully with my knee. I'm wearing a dress that shows off my thighs really well, which gets his attention as intended.

"I only have a few more hours until James relieves me. What did you have in mind?" he runs his hand over my calf that I have leaning on his leg. I have to suppress the urge to shutter at his touch.

"Probably the same thing you do." I say playfully. "I've been pretty lonely." I can tell he's getting excited by how his hand is now going farther and farther up my leg. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rose and the rest sneaking through the maze and up to the house. That's my cue. I grab Ralph's shirt collar and pull him out of the chair and closer to me. I put one hand on the back of his neck and bring his lips down to mine and kiss him with everything I've got. I so deserve an Oscar for this performance. He is totally responding by groping me all over. Please hurry you guys. I don't know how much longer I can do this. Finally, finally, Dimitri, Jacob, Mia and some human I've never seen before comes through the door. Ralph pulls away from me and growls at the intruders. He jumps over the desk and attacks Dimitri, who only has to fight him for about ten seconds before he stakes him. I can see why people refer to him as a god. I'm just glad I'm on his side. The human comes over to the control panel and starts doing stuff. The others all stand guard around her.

"Okay, everythings down. Tell Rose it's good to go." she says after about five minutes of messing with stuff. It doesn't take long for the front door to open and Christian to come through first, hands raised ready to torch anyone in his way. Rose, Alex and Rose Ann follow him in and they look around the area, making sure it's safe. The human that did whatever she did the security system gives Rose a thumbs up. Rose then mouths 'Adrian' to me and I point down the hall where I saw him go earlier to talk to Galina. I know Galina is strong, but with the man power they have, I don't see her as much of a threat. Rose's group quietly moves along the hall to get Adrian. I figure we just wait a little while longer until they have him and we can all split. After a few minutes I hear the library door slam shut. We all look to one another in confusion on why she would do that when about ten Strigoi come out of nowhere and surround us. I recognize Nadia as one of them. Oh my god, the whole hunting trip was a trick. They must have figured out what I was up to or were at least suspicious. Well, I guess I'm not the award winning actess I thought I was.

The front doors open and I see another ten to fifteen Strigoi walking in with Lissa, Peter, Eddie and Katie. We are so screwed. "All of you, into the library now! Galina wants to see you." One of Galina's favorites yells. "Don't forget the traitor. Galina has special plans for you." he snarls as he looks my way. I don't like the sound of that. We all walk the way Rose went with Nadia leading the way. She opens the door and I see Rose and her group surrounded by at least twenty more Strigoi. I think everyone who lives here is now in this room. I didn't realize how many were actually here. Some spy I am. The others walk in toward Rose and someone pushes me through the door so hard and land on the floor. I get up and stand with them. I don't know what happened, but suddenly, all the guardians circle around four of us, the weaker ones. I look around and find Adrian standing to the side, smiling at Rose. He thinks he's won, and by the look of it, he probably has. Galina walks over to Rose and starts talking to her. I can't really concentrate on the conversation as I look around the room trying to find some way out. I never had the chance to scope out this room since it's usually occupied with Galina and her cronies.

I'm brought out of my thoughts when I hear Rose screaming something and then everyone starts fighting. Strigoi are jumping at the guardians and I see flames shooting everywhere. Being a Strigoi, I naturally am strong and quick and figure I can be of some help to someone. I see the little Moroi, Mia, putting up a good fight but I don't think she can last too long on her own. I go behind the Strigoi she's fighting and grab him from behind. Mia takes to opportunity of his brief shock to stake him through the heart. Just as she pulls her stake out, another one comes at her, then another. I fight with one and rip her arm off. Wow, I didn't think I had it in me. Mia stakes the one she's fighting and runs over and stakes the one armed one. We continue like that, helping each other out for what seems like forever.

I glance over my shoulder to see how many are left, when l see Adrian hit Rose over the head with something that looks like a brick. She immediately falls to her knees, clutching her head. I see her trying to get up, but fall down again. I have to help her. She wouldn't be in this mess if I did a better job in my surveillence. I try to run to her to get her away from him but he picks up her now limp body and walks toward the bookcase. I follow him and see that he is going through some secret door. I open the door and follow as best I can. It's a dark tunnel with only a faint light far up ahead. I run about a hundred feet when I come to a three way fork. I don't which tunnel to take, left, right or keep going straight ahead. I stop at the entrance to the left, close my eyes and inhale through my nose, trying to see if I can get a read on Rose's scent. Nope, they didn't go down this way. I repeat this process at the middle tunnel and get no indication that they went this way. The only tunnel left is the one on the right, so I start running that way.

I feel like I've been running for hours but in reality it's probably only been minutes. This tunnel is full of curves and bends that slow me down a bit. It almost feels like I'm going in circles, which I wouldn't doubt considering the huge maze above ground. Galina was probably totally insane or a real genius. Finally, I see something different as I run down the tunnel, a set of stairs off to the side. I start to run up the stairs because I can smell Rose's blood in this direction. I hope I'm not too late. When I get to the top, I realize I'm back in the house, but on the opposite side of the library. I step out into the hallway and look down either way, wondering which room he could have taken her to. Well, I'm never going to find her just standing here. I'll admit, Adrian was pretty smart using the tunnels to get here, the guardians will get totally lost trying to find her if anyone saw him using the secret door.

I go from door to door checking each room for Rose. I find one that's locked and I put my ear to it to see if I can hear anything. It's my lucky day because I can hear Adrian trying to wake Rose up by lightly slapping her face. Hopefully that means he hasn't awakened her yet. He must want to torture her first, the bastard. I feel the panick and rage start to fill me up and I start kicking at the door handle, trying to break it free so I can get in. After about the tenth kick, it falls off and I rush into the room, slamming the door open as I do.

I see Rose laying unconscious on the bed with Adrian standing next to her with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at me. "Daphne, I'm actually glad you're here. Now when I awaken Rose, you guys can really be BFFs like you always wanted. We'll be one big happy family, me and my two favorite girls." The look in his eyes scares the hell out of me. I have to get Rose out of here, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I'm so tired from fighting and running all along the tunnels that I don't think I can take him down if I tried. Maybe I can talk him out of it, or at least stall him long enough that the others may be able to find us and take him down.

"Adrian, you know Rose doesn't want this life. And if you did awaken her, do you honestly think you'll be able to control her? She'll be much stronger and quicker than you and will have no problem killing you. Did you think this thing through?" He stops to think about it for a second. He might've had a chance when there were other Strigoi to help keep her in control, but they've all been killed, mostly by Rose herself. I guess he thought of a solution by the smile that creeps over his face.

"I know she has feelings for me, so I'll just use that to my advantage. I'll seduce her into submission. There has to be some truth to all those rumors that follow her wherever she goes. Tame her with sex. God, life is good." he laughs. I can't help but role my eyes at his method to tame the shrew. I was about to make some smart remark when I hear Rose groan from the bed. Oh no, she's waking up.

**Rose POV**

Oh my freakin' god, my head is killing me. It feels like someone slammed a railroad spike through my skull. I try to open my eyes, but it's bright wherever I am. I attempt to sit up, but the throbbing in my head gets worse, so I fall back into the pillow. Okay, so I'm on a bed, but where? I open my eyes again and look around. I see Adrian staring at me with a smile on his face. Well, at least someone's happy. "Adrian why are you smiling at me? What the hell happened? Where am I?" I ask hoping I'll get some answers. I take a closer look at him and see that he has red eyes. Oh shit! Now I remember what happened. We were ambushed by an army of Strigoi. Dimitri. Where is Dimitri, and Lissa? Where is everyone? Did they survive? I try to get up out of the bed, but the pain in my head and a very strong Adrian keep me down. Fuck!

_"Don't panic Rose. We got what we came for, remember? My body is right there in front of us, now we just need to figure out a way to get me from your body to mine." _the Adrian in my head tells me.

_"Any ideas? I don't want to start making out with a Strigoi if it ain't gonna work, no offense. You're hot and all, but no." _Don't get me wrong, I'll do anything to get Adian back into his body, but only if necessary.

"Oh good, you're awake. Sorry about hitting you like that, but I didn't think you would willingly come with me if I asked." Strigoi Adrian says.

"What are you going to do with me?" I ask him, though I'm sure I know the answer.

"Rose, I'm going to give you what you've always wanted, but would never admit, me." Oh man, is her arrogant. I didn't realize I was laughing until I saw the angry look he was giving me. I quickly quiet down, not wanting another head injury.

"Adrian, leave her alone. She doesn't want this. She doesn't want you." I look to the side of the room and see Daphne trying to talk Adrian out of awakening me. This only pisses him off more.

"Shut the hell up!" he screams at her. Both she and I flinch at his ourburst. I so don't like this Adrian. He moves his focus back to me and starts letting his eyes roam over my entire body, which makes my skin crawl. "I've been wanting you since the first day I saw you. Now you'll be mine forever." He gets on the bed with me and straddles my waist. His face comes closer and closer to mine as his smile gets wider and wider. I hear Daphne scream as she tries to push Adrian off me, but fails. Adrian backhands her hard and sends her flying into the wall. He gets off me and grabs a pencil of the nightstand and casually walks over to Daphne, who is slumped on the floor. He grabs one of her arms and forces her to stand up. He gets right into her face and growls at her. "You need to learn your place and KEEP QUIET!" He raises the pencil up and stabs her hard into her heart, causing me to jump in shock. I know it won't kill her, but it's enough to knock her out for a while. He let's her arm go and she drops to the floor, looking dead.

I move to go to her, but he turns around and pounces on me, pinning me down on the bed again. "No, no, no. You're not going anywhere Little Dhampir." He forcefully brings is lips to mine and starts kissing me, almost desperately.

_"Now Adrian, push Spririt out now." _I yell in my head while I have contact with his body.

_"It's still not working. Your soul is still blocking our efforts. We have to figure out how to let it go." _he tells me. Let is go? Let it go? That sounds like dying or turning Strigoi. Oh god, please don't tell me the only way to save Adrian is by my death? Suddenly I feel the release of pressure on my mouth and I realize that Strigoi Adrian is trailing kisses down to my neck. My heart rate increases knowing what he is about to do, awaken me. I start thinking about Dimitri and Lissa and everything that has happened to me this past year. I'm not ready to die. I try to fight him off, but I'm so weak from fighting and losing blood that he just laughs at my feeble attempt.

Then it hit me, to awaken me, he has to drain me of blood, which will kill me, which will free my soul, allowing Adrian to escape my body. I stop fighting and wait for the inevitable. "Don't worry Little Dhampir, you're going to enjoy this." he says as I feel his fangs seer through my flesh. The pain is enough to make me scream, but I won't give him the satisfaction. I feel him sucking on the wound he just made on my neck and a feeling of pure pleasure starts to take over my entire body.

_"Adrian, this is your chance. Do what you gotta do." _I manage to get out before I loose myself to the bliss.

"No Rose! You have to fight! Rose!" I barely hear him scream. I'm just enjoying the ride way too much to pay any attention. I feel myself falling farther and farther down. Before the blackness totally takes me under, I feel a rush go through my body. He did it. Adrian is back home.

**Sorry for the little cliffie, but I had to end it somewhere. Don't worry, I'll have the next chapter us real soon. So show me some love and hit that gree button and review.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Is Rose going to be okay? Did Adrian really get back into his body? Well, read and find out.**

**Vampire Academy: read it, loved it, still don't own it.**

**Dimitri POV**

I feel like I'm floating in an dark abyss. Nothingness surrounding me, until I feel hot, then cold and hot again. Suddenly I feel like I just went into warp drive and I suddenly stop and see light on the other side of my closed eyelids. I open my eyes and see Lissa smiling down at me. I must have been injured and she healed me. I hope it wasn't that bad. I slowly sit myself up and start looking around for Rose. I don't see her anywhere and my heart tries to beat out of my chest as panic is starting to rise inside me. Rose Ann comes running toward me pointing to the bookshelf. "Adrian took her and ran that way." she shouts. I don't have time to think. My body immediately goes into action and runs in the right direction. I get to the bookcase and see a secret door built in that isn't fully closed. I give it a little push and it opens up to reveal a long, dark tunnel. I start running down it as fast as I can with only thoughts of finding my Roza on my mind. Ah, holy hell, a three way tunnel. Which one will lead me to Rose? I hear footsteps come up behind me and I turn, stake ready, to see the rest of our group catching up to me. Just what I need, reinforcements.

"Alex, you take the left tunnel. Eddie, you take the middle and I'll take the right. The rest of you stay here. If we encounter another fork, we'll call for backup and then someone go help. If you find her, let me know where you are and I'll be there as soon as I can. Let's move!" I run quickly down my tunnel taking in all the bends and curves. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up back where I started. As I'm running, I see something off to the side up ahead, stairs. For some reason, I have a feeling she's up there. I can almost feel a pull toward her. Yes, Adrian definitely took her up the stairs. I take the steps two at a time and bust through the door at the top. I'm in the middle of a long hallway with many doors. It now dawns on my that I'm in the other side of the mansion. I don't know exactly where, or what floor, but still in the building. I go from door to door looking for my love. I get to one where the lock has been destroyed and walk into that one. There she is, my Roza, laying on a bed with Adrian's body half on top of her. She has blood on her neck. Oh god, he bit her. Is she in the process of being changed? Why is he unconscious? Out of the corner of my eye, I see another body. I turn and see that it's Daphne and she has something sticking out of her chest.

I run to Rose and check her pulse. Nothing. I can't find it. The panick that I was keeping under control has now burst through my defenses and I can't breath. She's dead. My beautiful Roza is dead. The tears in my eyes start overflowing and I don't have the strength to fight them back. This overwhelming feeling of defeat comes over me and I want nothing more than to lay down next to her and die also. I can not live without her. My life has no more meaning if she isn't with me. I lay my head on her chest and let the tears flow. All sorts of memories start to flood my mind; the first time I ever saw her when I came to take Rose and Lissa back to the academy... Lissa! "Lissa" I screamed into the communicator. She brought Rose back from the dead before. Maybe she can do it again. "I'm in the house. I found her in a room. Come quick." I run out of the room and try to find the entryway to meet her. I run to the end of the hall, turn left and see the staircase. I run down the stairs quickly and see the rest of the group just make it to the bottom. I yell to them to follow me. We make it back to the room and I hear everyone gasp at the scene before them. Christian and Rose Ann carefully roll Adrian off Rose and lie him next to her on the bed. I can see his chest rise and fall with each breath he takes. Rose Ann lifts up his eyelids and see that they are back to their original green, no red. Whatever they did worked. I know Rose would, will be so happy.

Lissa rushes over to Rose's side and immediately puts her hand on Rose's chest, right above her heart. She closes her eyes in concentration and tries to heal her. I just hope it's not too late.

**Rose POV**

Where the hell am I? Maybe I am in hell. That wouldn't really surprise me. Heavan couldn't handle me. It's like walking in a fog. Everything is all misty and I can't see more than a few feet in front of me. And the cold. It's so cold here. So I guess it can't be hell because hell is supposed to be hot. Everywhere I look is gray, no color anywhere. Man, this place is a real downer. I walk along the path I'm on, not seeing anything that catches my attention, or anyone else. Am I all alone here? "Hellooo. Is anybody out there?" I shout to anyone who might hear me. I stand in one place and wait to hear a reply. Nothing. There is isn't any sound what so ever. The silence is actually deaffening. I continue walking having no idea where I'm going. Well, I'll have to end up someplace, right? Finally after what seems like days of endless walking, I see something up ahead. It looks like someone sitting on a bench. I can't see very well, but for some reason the person feels familiar. I start running towards the figure, only to feel that the faster I run, the farther away I'm getting. How the heck am I supposed to get to that person. Frustrated, I closed my eyes and tried to get myself to focus again. Calm down Rose. Take deep breaths. I open my eyes to try again, only to find myself standing right next to the person on the bench. I take a closer look and notice that the person is Daphne. Holy crap! I sit down next to her and wait for her to notice me. This must be her soul. We must be in the world of the dead. I guess this means I'm either dead or Strigoi. I wonder if she'll know me since I didn't meet her until she was already here.

"Daphne, do you know who I am?" I ask her. She slowly raises her head and looks at me. She narrows her eyes like she's trying to figure out where she's seen me before.

"I'm not sure. You seem familiar, but I don't remember you." she says as she shrugs. I'm not sure if I should tell her how we know each other. It might be a shock.

"What do you remember?"

"I don't know. I keep seeing a pair of emerald green eyes whenever I close my eyes. They make me feel safe. But I can't see the face behind the eyes. I have no idea who they belong to or why I keep seeing them." I smile knowing that she's talking about Adrian. "I used to know more, but I found that the longer you're here, the more you forget." That's a disturbing thought. I don't want to forget any of my friends, especially Dimitri. Oh Dimitri, this is going to kill him. I look over to her and see a single tear run down her cheek.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" I ask her.

"I've been here a while and you're the first person I've seen. Thanks for coming." she says as she gives me an appreciative smile. I hold her hand in her lap and just sit quietly next to her. At least we have each other now. Suddenly I see a bright light up ahead of us. Being that I just got here, I don't know if this is something that happens a lot. I look over to ask Daphne what it is and I see shock all over her face. Apparently this is something new. Something deep inside me is telling me that I need to run into the light. It has a welcoming pull and I stand up, still holding on to Daphne and start running toward it. She must feel the pull too because she is running along side me with a smile on her face. We get to what looks like a huge tunnel full of while light and stand in front of it with awe. We look at each other as if questioning whether we should walk inside.

"Why not." I tell her as we both walk forward and get engulfed in light and happiness.

**Lissa POV**

I run into the room following Dimitri and see her. Rose is laying on the bed with no aura surrounding her. She's dead. I quickly walk to her side and put my hand on her chest over her heart. I close my eyes and concentrate on summoning all the magic I can and sending it to Rose. I can feel the wonderful feeling I get when I tap into Spirit. I send it into her body, but I don't notice a change in her yet. I pull away and check her pulse, but nothing. Oh god, please. You have to let her come back to me. I look around the room and my eyes stop on Peter. He's been doing really well with healing. Maybe he can help me. Just as I was about to call him over, I hear Adrian moan and start to stir.

"What the hell happened?" he says as he tries to sit up and open his eyes. He blinks a few times trying to focus and looks at everyone staring at him. He then turns and looks down at Rose's lifeless body. He starts shaking his head frantically. "No no no. She didn't. She can't be." He looks over to me. "Lissa. you have to help her." No shit! What do you think I just tried to do? Oh that's right, you just woke up.

"I tried. It isn't working. I need help. Mia, I need more blood and so does Adrian. Maybe with all three of us working together, we can get her back." he nods his head and accepts the bag and gulps it down. He gets out of bed and sees Daphne laying on the floor with the pencil still in her chest. We figured since she's Strigoi, she would be okay until we could heal Rose first. Adrian has other ideas.

"Oh my god, Daphne. Why isn't anyone helping her?" he yells at all of us. He picks her up and lays her on the bed next to Rose and pulls the pencil out. Normally, when the object is removed, Strigoi usually wake right up, but Daphne isn't waking. Adrian wants to heal Daphne but I stop him.

"We need to try to heal Rose first. It's going to take all of us." I argue. He is about to argue right back when Peter interjects.

"Maybe we can heal them both at the same time." he says while he reaches over and places Daphne's hand into Rose's. "Both of you get on the bed. Now Lissa, put one hand on Rose and the other on Adrian's shoulder. Adrian put one hand on Daphne and the other on my shoulder. I'll touch their joined hands and touch Lissa's shoulder. Since we're all connected, we can pull our magic together and heal them both together." I'll try anything to get Rose back.

We get into position and start to summon our Spirit magic and send it in to both of them. After a few minutes I can feel myself tiring fast, but I use all my strength to hold on. I feel myself slipping away and start to fall to the floor. Lucky for me, Christian is right behind me and catches me before I go down. I open my eyes and see the other two drained of all their energy too. I turn my attention to Rose and almost jump up with excitement when I see the faintest of aura around her. Dimitri is holding her wrist and is wearing the biggest smile on his face. She has a pulse. It worked. She came back to us. I look over to Daphne and see an aura around her too. Rose Ann lifts her eyelids and lets out a big breath. "Beautiful blue, and no red in sight." she reports. I can't believe we actually healed her back to her Moroi self. We'll have to figure out exactly what we did to allow that to happen. Adrian looks completely warn out, but also completely happy.

I don't know how long it's going to take for the girls to wake up, but the thought of staying in this place much longer doesn't sound very appealing. "I think we need to get out of here in case there are other Strigoi out there that are on their way." I tell everyone and they all agree. Dimitri carefully picks Rose up and Alex gets Daphne since Adrian is still too weak from the healing. Eddie and Rose Ann run out to drive the cars closer to the house. While we were all in the room healing Rose and Daphne, Sydney was busy cleaning up the bodies. We all load into the cars and head back to the hotel.

We have to get another room for Adrian and Daphne. He doesn't leave her side the entire trip back. About an hour later, Daphne wakes up, totally confused. She doesn't remember much but she seems at ease with Adrian. Rose is still unconscious, but at least she's still alive. I don't know what's going to happen to her and the effects of Spirit since she was brought back from the dead a second time. Will she be bonded to Adrian and Peter now too? Will our bond change? I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Dimitri is laying on the bed next to Rose, stroking her hair and whispering to her. I hope she wakes up soon. I walk in and sit on the bed next to her, opposite Dimitri and hold her hand. "Why hasn't she woke up yet?" he asks me. I wish I had an answer for him.

"I don't know. She lost almost all her blood. Maybe it just takes longer for the body to replenish itself enough for her to wake." he nods and goes back to whispering to Rose in Russian. It almost sounds like he's singing to her. "I'll leave you two alone. Let me know when she wakes up." I tell him as I get up and walk toward the door.

"Thank you Lissa, for bringing her back. I dont' know what I would've done if I lost her." Dimitri says while holding her hand.

"Same here." I say as I shut the door behind me.

_"Thank you Lissa." _I hear Rose say. I run back into the room and see Rose still in the same position I just left her in. Dimitri looks at my confused.

"Is there something wrong?" he asks me.

"I just heard her speak. Outside, I swear I heard her thank me." I tell him. I know I'm not crazy. I heard her.

"She hasn't moved or spoken." he says.

_"I love you Dimitri." _she says again. I run over to her excited.

"Oh Rose, can you hear me? Say 'Polly wants a cracker' if you hear me." I think I can hear her thoughts but I need to be sure.

_"Why would I say something so stupid, Lis?" _she says again. I can hear her thoughts. I start jumping up and down squeeling like a mad woman. I'm sure Dimitri thinks I've gone off my rocker. Christian comes running into the room and straight to me.

"Did she wake up? What's going on?" he asks. I 'm just too excited to answer his questions right now.

"I'm not really sure." Dimitri answers him. "Does she do this a lot?"

_"Rose, I can hear your thoughts. Can you still hear mine?" _I ask her in my head.

_"Yeah. I'm so tired. I need to rest. Go away please." _Well I see dyingsure didn't effect her attitude.

_"Fine, I'll go, but we're going to talk when you wake up." _I tell her. I wonder what else we can do now. I hope I don't get sucked into her head like she does with me. That might not be too fun. Before I leave, I walk up to Dimitri and put my hand on his shoulder. "She's going to be just fine. She really loves you, you know. She'll wake soon. She just needs more rest."

"Were you speaking with her before?" he asks trying to make sense of everything. I nod and he smiles a thank you. I'm so glad that actually got everyone back safely.

**Rose POV**

I feel myself waking up so I open my eyes and see the most glorious sight in the world, my Dimitri sleeping soundly next to me. I thougt I would never see that face again. I lean over and kiss his lips, trying to wake him up. "Mmmm,, Roza." he moans. About a second later his eyes fly open to see me smiling at him. "Roza, you're awake." he practically shouts as he pulls me into a bone crushing embrace.

"Air...need air." I tell him trying to get him to ease up. He pulls away and stares into my eyes for quite awhile. I can never get enough of looking at him.

I've been awake now for a few hours but Dimitri won't let me get out of bed except to use the bathroom. I told him I needed a shower and he got in with me and helped me. He was all business though. Damn. Afterwards, he ordered me back to bed for the rest of the day. He did allow me to have visitors and everyone came in throughout the day to see how I was doing.

Adrian came in with Daphe in tow. He had to introduce her to me because she still doesn't remember who I am. He seems to think she'll recover her memory in time. "Hey Adrian, hows it feel to have your old body back?" I ask him.

"It feels freakin' wonderful! I'm gonna miss shower time though." he says with a smirk. I can see Dimitri tense next to me and I put a hand on his arm to calm him down. Daphne gives Adrian a little smack on the arm for the shower comment.

"I'm not." I laugh. "I do miss you though. What will I do without all your annoying outbursts at the most inopportune times?"

"Don't worry Little Dhampir. I'll always be around to annoy you." he says as he nudges my shoulder. Good. I wouldn't want it any other way.

**Yay, they made it! Review and let me know what you thought of the rescue mission.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Alas, I dont' own Vampire Academy.**

**Three months later**

**Rose POV**

I slowly open my eyes hoping to look into the deep brown ones I wake up to every morning. Instead I see the light jade green eyes of my best friend and maid of honor, Lissa. "You're getting married today!" she shouts as she bounces up and down on my bed. A huge smile spreads across my face as I think about walking down the aisle to my very sexy man and making him mine forever. I sit up and start bouncing on the bed with Lissa too. The next thing I know, Mia and Katie are jumping and laughing on the bed with us.

"You guys keep it down. Rose, your mom is still sleeping." Rose Ann scolds us. I look over and see my mom still passed out on the floor. We had a great bachlorette party in my room last night. The boys took Dimitri out for his bachlore party last night too. We decided that almost anything could happen and if the other person found out about it, they couldn't get mad. The only rule was no getting naked with a member of the opposite gender, and no sex of any kind. Touching was okay. I trust Dimitri and he trusts me, so there isn't a problem, I hope. With Adrian hosting the party, you never know what will happen.

Of course, we girls had a blast. We drank, played some silly games, danced and then some strippers that Mia and Katie hired came to entertain us. Not only were my friends there, but my mom and Dimitri's family were there too. I would have been embarrassed when the strippers showed up if I wasn't already three sheets to the wind. My mom was hilarious. She was so drunk and was dancing with the stripper named Buck Naked. They were bumping and grinding to the beat of the music. I've never seen her have any fun before. Luckily, I got it all on video so when she sobers up, she's going to be in for a big surprise. Hehehe. I'm so evil.

When my mom found out about Rose Ann, she was mad at Abe, at first, but figured that it was all in the past and there was nothing she could do about it. She has been very nice to my sister, probably feeling guilty for what happened. I'm just glad she took it so well and didn't send Abe to the hospital.

Dimitri's mom, Karolina and Sonya went and slept in the room we got them here at the hotel after the party last night. Viktoria stayed with the rest of the girls. Even though she's underage, like most of us, she was drinking too. We just don't need to tell Dimitri that. He can be a little protective. I learned that Viktoria is not one to divulge your deepest secrets to, because when she got drunk last night, she was running off at the mouth. I know more about my new sisters in law than I should.

Daphne was at the party too. She has finally recovered her memory and is now one of my best friends. She and Adrian are doing really good together. When she was healed with me, she became shadow kissed and now has a bond with Adrian. She can feel his emotions and seems to pull the darkness from him, but so far hasn't been able to get into his head yet. Lissa, on the other hand, experienced what it was like for me to be in her head when she was with Christian. Dimitri and I were in the middle of having a fabulous time, when she started screaming in my head. I just told her 'paybacks are a bitch' and kept going with what we were doing. She learned to put up her mental barriers real quick. Peter doesn't have the same bond with Daphne or me like the other two do, but we do get some of his darkness. It looks like he got the best part of the deal.

I finally get out of my bed and go over to wake my mom up and get Viktoria out of the bathtub so I can shower, when I hear a knock at the door. I go answer it and when I open the door, I come face to face with one of the most attractive men I've ever seen in my life, apart from Dimitri. He's very tan and muscular with dark curly hair and a dazzling smile. I must look like an idiot standing in the doorway with my mouth hanging open staring at this living work of art. Lissa runs up beside me and nudges me back to reality. I shut my mouth and smile. "Hi. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes. My name is Ambrose. The Queen has sent me to give you a massage to relax you before you walk down the aisle." he says with a smile. You have got to be kidding me. I move aside to let him in. Behind him follows another man carrying the massage table. He sets it up and bows to us and then leaves. The rest of the girls leave, very slowly I might add, never taking their eyes off Ambrose until the last moment when they walk out the door. I go into the bathroom to get ready while he sets up the table. I'm a little nervous being naked and alone in my room with another man, especially as one as hot as Ambrose. Of course I would never do anything, but if Dimitri found out, he wouldn't be happy.

As soon as I'm on the table and Ambrose starts rubbing my muscles, all my tension and worry melt away. "Poor Dimitri is missing out. This is great." I sigh happily.

"The Queen sent another masseuse for Guardian Belikov. Ashley is with him right now." Ambrose tells me while working out a knot in my back.

"Please don't tell me she's the female version of you. I don't think I could handle that." I joke.

"Ashley is probably one of the most unattractive women I have ever seen. You have nothing to worry about." That's over doing it a bit, I'm sure. I lift up my head and turn to look at him. He blushes a little and confesses. "Okay, she's very attractive, but has nothing on you, trust me." I give him a smile thanking him for the compliment. I know I trust Dimitri, it's her I don't. She just better realize who's fiance she's got her hands all over, or she'll regret it if she tries anything. Maybe I should send her a little reminder.

_"Hey Lissa, can you send a little message to the bimbo giving Dimitri a massage right now?"_

_"Sure Rose. What's the message?" _she asks with a giggle in her voice.

_"Well, tell Dimitri that his bride to-be, Rose Hathaway, hot headed guardian that recently killed fifteen Strigoi in ten minutes, can't wait to see him at the end of the aisle. Hopefully is she isn't seriously stupid, she'll get the message."_

_"Wouldn't it just be easier to tell her that if she tries to make a move on your man you'll hurt her?" _she asks clearly amused at my insecurities.

_"It's more fun this way. When you deliver the message, don't knock, just go on in." _I tell her. Maybe she'll catch her in the act of trying to seduce him. I'm going to slip into her head, but I didn't want to tell her. She has this thing about me and Dimitri not seeing each other before the wedding. Lissa is walking to the door and is about to knock out of habbit, but catches herself before her hand touches the wood. She closes her eyes tight and turns the knob and pushes the door open quickly. Open your eyes Lissa. She opens them and sees Dimitri face down on the table with a blanket over his lower half with Ashley rubbing his shoulders. Nothing bad going on here, thank goodness.

"Is there something wrong, Lissa?" Dimitri asks her.

"I have a message from Rose. And I quote, Oh god, how did she put it? Ah hell, she loves you and can't wait to get married." she tells Dimitri. Then she turns her attention to Ashley. "She also wants _you_ to know that she'll have no problem breaking every bone in your hand if you get fresh with him." Ashley suddenly removes her hands from his body and stares at Lissa in disbelief and fear. Mission accomplished. "Well then, enjoy your massage." she says before she shuts the door. _"I know you saw that Rose. Now stop worrying about him and relax. I'll be there in a little while to help you get dressed." _I can't help but smile knowing I have the best friend in the whole world. At the end of today, I'm going to be Guardian Rose Belikov. I can't wait.

**Dimitri POV**

I can't believe I'm getting married today. It seems like just yesterday we were sitting in the gym at the academy when I asked her to be mine forever. I can't wait to hear say 'I do' and kiss me for the first time as Guardian Rose Belikov. I have to wait until this evening to see her walk down the aisle. I don't know why they had to schedule it so late in the day. If they asked me, I would be dancing the first dance with her right now.

I look around the room and see all the guys still passed out everywhere. The only one who is awake besides myself is Adrian. He's had a lot of experience in the 'drink like a fish and still function the next morning' department. When I first met Adrian, I couldn't stand him. That was because he was after my Roza. Now he seems to be getting over her and shifting his attention to Daphne. I don't think he's so bad now. He genuinely cares for Rose and I can't fault him for that. "Belikov, why don't you come sit with me and have a chat." Oh really? This should be interesting.

"Abe already gave me the 'hurt her and you're a dead man' lecture. What are you going to add?" I tell him. Does he really think I would ever hurt her? He laughs lightly to himself but motions for me to sit in the chair across from him. So I do and wait for him to start his speech.

"I guess I don't have to say anything more about that knowing Abe Mazur doesn't make empty threats. How are you feeling? Getting nervous? It's never too late to back out you know?" I give him a confused look because I have no idea where this is all coming from.

"Well, I am a little nervous. I'll feel much better when I see her walking down the aisle to me." I tell him. I hear some groaning behind me and I look to see Christian waking up and trying to get up off the floor. He looks like hell.

"Oh man, I feel like shit. That was one hell of a party last night, hay Dimitri? What a way to end your last night of being a free man. I just hope Rose doesn't find out about the blond." he snickers. I just roll my eyes knowing I didn't break any of the rules Rose and I put in place for last night. But really, he should talk.

"Rose doesn't need to know, just like Lissa doesn't need to know about the girl that ruined your shirt." He looks confused as he looks down and sees that all the buttons on his shirt have been popped off. By the look on his face, he must have been too drunk to remember what happened, that is until Jacob wakes up and plays the video of the stripper who was giving him a lap dance and pulled his shirt open without undoing the buttons first. Then I realize he might have footage of me on their too. I must get that video before he shows the girls. None of us are too proud of what happened last night. I look over to Christian's panicked face and tell him by looking back to Jacob that we need to get the camera. He nods back to me and walks to the other side of the idiot holding the camera.

Adrian is just sitting back in the chair watching like we're putting on a show just for his benefit. Jacob realizes what's going on and tries to run for the door. Luckily, Eddie woke up and blocked the door, not letting Jacob get out. He turns around and sees Alex. "Throw it here brother. I'll help you." Alex tells him. Jacob tosses the camera to Alex, who immediately erases the file. He had some pretty incriminating footage on there too. Everyone except Jacob starts laughing in relief knowing that our women will never know what went on last night. But out of the corner of my eye, I see Jacob smirk. That can't be good. I turn to face him and glare. He runs for the door and is about to shut it behind him when he pokes his head back in.

"It's a good thing I already uploaded the videos to my computer last night, or I'd be pretty upset by that." he says before shutting the door behind him. I knew I was right in not liking that punk.

A few minutes later someone was knocking at the door. I opened it to find a very beautiful raven haired woman standing in the doorway. "My name is Ashley. The Queen sent me to give a massage to Guardian Belikov." she said as she looked around the room at all the guys staring at her.

"I'm Guardian Belikov." every guy in the room said at once, even the Moroi. She laughed and walked in with a big guy behind her carrying the massage table. He set the table up for her and left. Adrian came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Rose will be pissed if she finds out she had her hands all over you. For you my friend, I'll take your place and save your marriage. Considerate it my wedding gift." he tells me, all the while looking at Ashley.

"Thanks for the thought, but I think I can handle it. Rose trusts me." I tell him. Adrian, Christian, Peter, Alex and Eddie all start laughing.

"Have you just met Rose? She may trust you, but she most definitely won't trust her." Eddie says pointing to Ashley.

"I'm sure Rose can handle it." I tell them. They all say goodbye to Ashley and leave. I go into the bathroom and get undressed and put on a robe and walk out. I get on the table and cover up under a blanket. I try to relax, but thoughts of Rose busting through the door and beating the crap out of this poor girl keep replaying in my mind.

She starts rubbing and kneading my back muscles and it feels so good. She moves up to my shoulders and I feel her gently caress the back of my neck where all my Molnija and battle stars are. We just got one last week for the raid at Galina's estate. "Wow, you must be the best guardian in our world with all these marks. I'm not surprised really with this very strong, muscular body of yours." She says as she continues to rub my back. Oh God, please don't flirt with me. I need to let her know who she's dealing with.

"Yes, but my fiance has killed more than me. She's not one you want to anger." Hopefully she gets the hint. She doesn't say anything after that, thank goodness. Just then, the door slams open and I see Lissa standing there with her eyes closed. She opens them and lets out a sigh. "Is there something wrong, Lissa?" I ask her, although I have a feeling Rose is behind this visit.

"I have a message from Rose. And I quote, Oh god, how did she put it? Ah hell, she loves you and can't wait to get married." she tells me. Then she turns her attention to Ashley. "She also wants _you_ to know that she'll have no problem breaking every bone in your hand if you get fresh with him." I feel Ashley remove her hands from my back and take a step away from the table. "Well then, enjoy your massage." she says before she shuts the door. I drop my head down onto the table and let out a small laugh. Oh Roza, I can't wait to marry you.

**Can you belive there about to get married? This story is just about over, but don't worry. I have another story already in the works. It's a Rose and Adrian story. Anyway, review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. And just so you know, you're all invited to the wedding, so come back next chapter.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Don't own Vampire Academy, still.**

**Rose POV**

I'm sitting in the little side room at the church we're getting married in, while Lissa and the other girls fuss all over me. I'm sitting in my beautiful wedding dress that Olena and Yeva made for me. It's absolutly gorgeous. It's strappless with beading along the bodice and chapel train. Lissa is putting the finishing touches to my hair. I'm wearing it down, just the way Dimitri likes it. My mother gave me the veil that my great grandmother wore when she married. Apparently, I'm the first woman in my family to get married since her. Yeva was able to fix it up and add some beading so it matches the dress perfectly. That's my something old. The dress is my something new. Lissa loaned me her pearl earrings to wear. That's my something borrowed and Rose Ann bought me the most adorable blue garter to wear under my dress. You can guess what that catagory that falls under.

I look over to my mom and see her wiping away a few tears running down her cheeks. I'm shocked because I've never seen her cry before. "Are you okay mom? Your eyes are leaking." I try to lighten the mood because if I start crying and ruin my make up, Lissa will kill me.

"Oh Rose. I'm just so happy that you fell in love with a wonderful man and found a way to make it work in our crazy world. I'm just so proud of the two of you." She says through her tears. Deep breaths Rose. Don't start crying.

"Thanks mom." I tell her as I fan my eyes trying to keep the tears welling in my eyes from spilling over. Lissa is standing ready with a tissue in her hand to handle any masscara issues that arise. Luckily I'm able to keep myself under control.

"Alright, no sentimental conversations until after the I Do's and the pictures. You can turn into a blubbering bride at the reception." Lissa warns me. I just nod at her as does everyone else in the room. Just then Abe pops his head through the door.

"It's time Rose. Are you ready?" he asks with a smile. Over the past few months, Abe has been getting to know Rose Ann and I a lot better. He's even footing the bill for the wedding and the reception afterwards. So in return for all he's done for me, I asked him to walk me down the aisle, which he gladly accepted.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready." I tell him as the butterflies in my stomach start flying around. My bridesmaids, Rose Ann, Katie, Mia, Daphne and Viktoria all kiss me on the cheek, careful not to get any lipstick on my face, and walk out of the room. They are all wearing red strapless floor length gowns that compliment my dress. They're so beautiful. Lissa, my maid of honor stays with me a little longer.

"Rose, I'm so happy for you. I know I said so sappy sentiments until later, but I just couldnt' let you go down that aisle without letting you know how much I love you. I know you two will be so happy together." she says with such sincerety and love I can feel it radiate through the bond.

"I love you too Lissa. No one ever had a best friend as wonderful you." We hug each other tightly as a few tears escape. I pull away before I start to loose it. She laughs as she fixes up any make up messes before she leaves to walk down the aisle. Abe presents his arm and I gladly accept.

"Oh just so you know, the Queen is here to see you and Dimitri tie the knot." he tells me like it's nothing. Great, just what I needed. Oh well, this is my day and I'm not going to let her presence rattle me. I hear the song that Dimitri picked out for me to walk down the aisle to, Cross My Heart by George Strait. Dimitri said it perfectly states his feelings for me. As I listen to the lyrics while I walk to him, I have to fight to keep from crying. God, why do I have to cry so much? Because I'm seriously happy, that's why. As soon as I see him, my smile widens. He looks so handsome in his classic black tux, I'm breathless. It should be illegal for one man to look that good. I have the urge to run and jump into his arms, but I feel Abe tighten his grip to pull me back and chuckle softly at my eagerness. Dimitri must have seen this reaction in me, because I can see him laugh softly too. I can't help it.

I finally get to the end and Abe places my hand in Dimtri's. My heart skips a beat at his touch. I'm having trouble paying attention to what Father Andrew is saying because all I can focus on is Dimitri. I'm getting lost in the love that is in his eyes. I can't believe he's mine, all mine. I'm suddenly brought out of my daze when I feel someone nudge my shoulder and say my name. I look over to Lissa's amused face as she nods her head sideways toward Father Andrews. I look over to him and he repeats what I didn't hear him say the first time. "Rose, would you like to recite your vows to Dimtri?" he asks me, again.

"Oh, yes." I tell him and turn to Lissa and hand her my bouquet of red roses so I can take both of Dimitri's hands in mine. "Dimitri, I love you so much. You are my rock, my protector, my lover, my best friend, my strength, my everything. I'm thankful for every single second that you are in my life. I promise to be your shoulder to cry on, to lift you up when you're feeling down, to always back you up, to kick your ass when you need it, to listen to your zen life lessons and to show you how much I love you every single day for the rest of my life. Thank you so much for loving me. You make me a better person. I love you." The sheer joy on Dimitri's face as I said my vows warms me to my core. Father Andrew looks over to Dimitri and asks him to recite his vows to me.

"Roza, from the very first moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were going to turn my world upside down. When others called you wild and disrespectful, I saw you as passionate, strong, expressive, loyal, dedicated, fierce, courageous, confident and beautiful. I love that you not only stand up for yourself, but for others. You always put everyone else before yourself and I promise to spend every day of my life putting you first. You are my heart, my soul, my life, my everything. I love you Roza."

Thank goodness for waterproof masscara because I had rivers of tears running down my face listening to the beautiful words he said to me. We then exchanged rings and I waited patiently for the part I was eagerly waiting for, the kiss that seals the deal. "You may now kiss the bride." Father Andrews spoke. Dimitri smiles brightly as he leans down to kiss me. What was supposed to be just a nice simple kiss, turned into something much bigger. I didn't want to let him go. Finally Father Andrew cleared his throat, reminding us that we weren't quite done. We reluctantly broke away and faced our guests. As I looked around , I saw the Queen wiping away tears as well as both of our moms. It lools like the entire Moroi and Dhampir community was here along with a bunch of the Queens guardians, including a big surprise, Guardian Bubbles. "May I introduce you all to Guardians Dimitri and Rose Belikov." Father Andrew finished. Everyone stood and clapped as we gave each other another kiss and walked hand in hand back down the aisle.

We did it. We did what everyone else said we shouldn't do, we got married. When we get the the end, Dimitri swoops me into a huge hug and spins me around. Before he puts me back down, he kisses me again. "I love you Guardian Belikov." he tells me. I love the way that sounds.

**Sorry the chapter's so short. Tons of stuff going on but I wanted to get something up for you. I'll have the reception in the next chapter. Instead of gifts, Rose and Dimitri just ask that you review.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Sorry for the delay. I recommend listening to the song Can't take my eyes off you, from Lady Antebellum. It's the song they dance to. You can find it on youtube, it's so perfect for Rose and Dimitri. Enjoy!**

**Dimitri POV**

I can't believe it, Rose is now mine forever. It feels like a giant weight was lifted off my shoulders when she gave me that first kiss at the alter. I can't wait to live the rest of my life as her husband, taking care of her every single day for the rest of our lives. Our marriage is extremely rare in our world. Since we are both Dhampirs, many see our union as a waste since we'll never have children of our own. I feel sorry for those people, because they obviously have never felt the kind of love Roza and I share.

After the ceremony, we stay behind to take the wedding pictures. This. Is. Agonizing. I just want to get to the wedding night, already. Rose had this genius idea for us to refrain from sex for the last month before the wedding. Not one of her best. I am so anxious right now I'm eyeing the broom closet wondering how sound proof it is. Of course, Rose looking as beautiful as she is right now, isn't helping my situation any. I know Rose feels the same way because she keeps kissing and touching me every little chance she gets. We take the pictures, some serious and some for fun. Rose and her bridesmaids all pose like Charlie's Angels for one shot and another they all hike up the side of their dresses showing off one of their legs. I think I actually growled seeing Rose's leg like that. I need some fresh air before the lovely dress my mother and Yeva made ends up in shreds on the floor.

Finally, we are done with the pictures and are on our way to the reception. It's being help in the banquet hall at the hotel we've called home for the last how many months. Lissa was in charge of overseeing the decorations, and they look wonderful. There are red and white flowers everywhere and lighted candles on every table giving it a very romantic feel. She really outdid herself. I hear Rose gasp when we walk in. I see her look around the room, taking it all in. She sees Lissa and she walks over and pulls her into a loving embrace. "It's so beautiful, Lissa. Thank you so much."

"Anything for . You deserve the best." Lissa tells her. The woman speaks the truth. Rose does deserve the best. We go sit at the head table to eat, although food isn't what I'm hungry for. An army of waiters come out and set plates of food in front of everyone. I have no idea what's on the menu since I wasn't part of the whole planning process, not that I wanted to be. As the food comes out, the aroma awakens my appetite and I find myself eager to eat. It's all my favorite foods I grew up with. Rose leans over to me and kisses me on the cheek.

"Do you like it? I insisted that the menu revolve around you." she says. "Mom was put in charge of the food, so if there's anything you don't like, blame her." she giggles. I just noticed that she called my mother 'mom', which thrills me to know she feels so comfortable with my family.

"I love it. Thank you Roza." I tell her as I give her a quick peck on the lips. She looks at me dissappointed that I didn't linger. "Roza, if I don't control myself, I'm going to end up giving our guests a preview to what I plan to do to you tonight." I whisper in her ear. It doesn't help my resolve any when she smiles at me and starts running her hand along my thigh. "Roza..." I warn. She gives me a little laugh and removes her hand before I start removing her clothes.

After we're done eating, Champaign is poured for the toasts. Lissa stands up first and the room quiets down. "Rose and I have been inseperable since kindergarten, when she threw a book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard because she felt we were being treated unfairly. I would like to set the record straight about this woman sitting here. She isn't reckless, she lives life to the fullest. She isn't disrespectful, she's brutally honest. She's not undisciplined, she's passionate. She's not stubborn, she's dedicated. She's not hot tempered, she's... well okay, that one may be true. She also loves and fights without holding back. I love this woman with all my heart and have always feared that there was no man in the world good enough for her. Then Dimitri came into her life. He was able to see Rose like I see her and was helpless to not fall in love with her. I truely believe they were created for each other. He is strong enough, patient enough and wise enough to love her, for which I am truely thankful. I wish you both a life time of love and happiness." Everyone lifted their glasses and drank to us. I think all the women in the room were drying their eyes, especially Rose. I put my arm around my shoulder and kissed her temple. Lissa gave both of us a hug and sat back down next to Rose.

Next my best man, Christian, was next up for the toast. We've become close friends in the last few months. "Dimitri and Rose, I truely believe your marriage is made in heaven, just like thunder, lightning and tornados. All of which describe Rose perfectly." Rose glares over to Christian as the room fills with laughter. "Who ever thought the anti-social, disciplined guardian and the loud mouth party girl would find happiness with the other. When I see you two together, I see the love and respect you have for one another reflected in the way you treat each other. Those of us that know and love you both, are thrilled you found each other. To a long life full of love and happiness." he finishes with a raise of his glass. Rose apparently liked his toast by the way she gives him a grateful hug.

The time comes for our first dance, and I get so excited. I take my wife, God I love the way that sounds, by the hand and lead her out to the dance floor. I wrap my arms around her waist as her hands caress the back of my neck as we begin to sway to the music of our song, Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Lady Antebellum. It's as if the song was written just for us.

_I know that the bridges that I've burned along the way_

_Have left me with these walls and these scars that won't go away_

_And opening up has always been the hardest thing_

_Until you came_

I lean down closer to her, kissing her neck and breathing in her intoxicating scent. I whisper in her ears the next part of the song.

_Just lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_

_This feelin' I'm feelin' is something I've never known_

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

I hear Rose sniffle and I smile knowing that she is crying tears of joy again. She wipes her eyes and pulls me down to her again and sings the next part to me, as best she can.

_I love when you tell me I'm pretty when I just wake up_

_And I love how you tease me when I'm moody_

_But it's never too much_

I can't help but let out a laugh at that line

_I'm falling fast but the truth is I'm not scared at all_

_You climbed my walls_

We both hold each other tightly, our eyes gazing in the others, and sing the rest of the song quietly to each other, as if we're the only two people in the whole world.

_Just lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_

_This feelin' I'm feelin' is something I've never known_

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

_Off you_

_Off you_

_Just lay here beside me just hold me and don't let go_

_And oh...This feelin' I'm feelin' is something I've never known_

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

_And I just can't take my eyes off you_

After the song ends I lean down and press my lips gently to hers, only to have the hunger I've been suppressing all evening come spilling out into that kiss. I can't help but pull her tighter to me and deepen the kiss. I can feel my control quickly fading away as she moans in pleasure against my mouth. I don't know how much longer either of us can hold out. We reluctantly pull apart when someone comes up beside us and clears their throat. Rose and I both look to our intruder with hateful glares for being interupted, when we see that's it Abe. I quickly hide my displeasure, not wanting to piss off my new father-in-law. "May I have this dance with my daughter?" he asks us both. I look to Rose and she smiles at him and nods. I hand her over to him and turn around to see my mother standing there. I take her hand and dance with her, something I haven't done since I was a little boy.

"I'm so happy for you Dimitri." she gushes. I give her a hug. After Rose, she is the most important woman in my life.

"Thank you mama." I tell her. We finish our dance and I go to get my Roza back, when Lissa steps in front of me.

"You'll have the rest of your life to dance with her. Right now, it's my turn." she says with a mischevious grin. I look over to Rose and see her dancing with Christian and a line is forming behind her. I sigh and smile to Lissa as I reach out my hand. "I know I said that I'm glad Rose has you in her life, but I'm also glad you have her. She brings out the fun side of you. You two are really good together." she tells me as we dance. For the next several songs, we dance with all our friends and loved ones. I even dance with my new mother-in-law, which make me nervous since I know how scary she can be. But thankfully, she's happy for the both of us, so no death threats.

I finally get my bride back when we hear Jacob taking the microphone. This can't be good. "I would just like to tell the happy couple congratulations and dedicate this song to them." He puts the microphone down, and nods to the DJ with a wicked grin. Blaring from the speakers on either side of the stage is the most annoying sound in the world, I cringe at the memory this song brings back, The Chicken Dance song. I look over to Jacob and Adrian and see them and the rest of our so called friends laughing their asses off. The whole room is now filled with people flapping their arms and shaking their butts, doing this rediculous dance. Rose looks up to me and smiles but knows that I refuse to dance to this song. She wraps her arms around my waist and we start swaying back and forth. I smile and kiss the top of her head, thankful she isn't giving me grief about not joining in on the 'fun'.

When that nightmare of a song is over, Lissa ushers us over to the cake table. We cut the cake together as camera flashes threaten to render me blind. I don't get why silly stuff like this so important. But it makes Rose happy, so I grin and bare it. Next we're supposed to feed each other some cake, so go to place some cake lovingly to Rose's luscious mouth, when I get a faceful of frosting all over me. I can't believe she just did that. I can hear her laughing in hysterics as I wipe the goo away from my eyes so I can open them. Oh yeah, you want to go there do you? I grab a handful of cake and smash it into her face and I hear Christian and Jacob behind me supporting me with 'Take that Rose' and fits of laughter. By the look on her face, she wasn't expecting me to retaliate, she looks shocked, then pissed. Uh oh. The Adrian saves me by walking up to her, chuckling.

"What's wrong Little Dhampir? You can dish it out but can't take it?" She looks over at him and smiles while she grabs a handful of cake and pushes it into his face. Now that's funny. Lissa comes running over, looking like she's about to have a heart attack.

"Stop. Stop. Are you people crazy? You're going to ruin the dress." she screams at us. Rose rolls her eyes and picks up some more cake and rubs it on both of Lissa's cheeks while laughing.

"Lighten up Lissa. It's a party." she says while grabbing more of the poor ruined cake and looks at me and then over to Jacob, who is still hunched over laughing his head off. I follow her lead as we walk over to him, cake in hand. "Hello Jacob." she says. As soon as he looks to her, he gets a faceful of cake from Rose while I rub my piece into his hair. That shut him up. The next thing I know, the entire wedding party is throwing our wedding cake all over each other. I hear my nephew Paul whining not too far from me.

"Oh man, I wanted a piece of that." he says mournfully. I call his name and throw some cake at him.

"Enjoy." I tell him. After a little while, we calm down and go get cleaned up. We still have a couple things to take care of before we can leave and get to the good stuff. All the single women are gathered in the center of the room, pushing and shoving each other for a good spot to catch the bouquet. Me and my groomsmen, Christian, Adrian, Peter, Alex, Eddie and even Jacob, are betting on who we think will catch it. By the way we just saw Lissa elbow Daphne in the ribs, most of us think she'll do whatever she has to, to get those flowers. I look over to Christian and he looks a little nervous at that possiblily. Rose tosses it in the air and about ten grown woman go nuts diving for this thing. It's the funniest thing I've seen in my life. But just like we predicted, Lissa rises from the pile victorious, bouquet in hand. She walks over to Christian with a smile on her face and kisses him. I have a feeling another wedding isn't far behind.

Next is the tossing of the garter belt. I have been looking forward to this little tradition for a while. I plan on having a lot of fun torturing Rose. She sits down in a chair in the middle of the room with me kneeling down in front of her. She very slowly starts lifting up her dress as she waggles her eyebrows at me, causing my heartbeat and breathing to increase. Damn it. She has the same idea to torture me too. Eventually, her bare leg is showing and I see the little blue garter belt hugging her delicious thigh. I let out a ragged breath as I look at her with lust in my eyes. I see the same in hers and I know we are both on the brink of falling ove the edge. I just hope I have enough control left as I lightly glide my hands over her smooth skin to her foot and take off her shoe. I then move my hands back up, caressing her calf and slowly move my way up to her thigh. I see her close her eyes in pleasure and try to slow her breathing. I go past the garter up to the end of her thigh and she gasps and opens her eyes wide in surprise that I would do that in front of everyone. I'm not done with her yet. I lean down and kiss her knee and up along her leg until I reach the item to be removed. I grab it with my teeth and gently pull it down her leg and over her foot. I take it out of my mouth and and give the top of her lovely foot a kiss before putting it back down on the ground. The look on her face is priceless. She's practically panting and her face is flushed. I love that I can make her react like that. I pull her dress back down, not wanting all the men in the room to see more than neccessay and lean over and kiss her lips. As I started backing away, she grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls me closer to her and smashes her lips to mine. She starts kissing me hungrily and I have to pull her off me after a few moments to keep me from ripping that dress off once and for all.

After I get my breathing back to normal, I toss the garter out into the crowd of men and it is caught by non other than Adrian. It places the garter on his arm and goes and grabs Daphne and starts dancing with her. I'm really glad he's found someone that isn't Rose. I take Rose out onto the dance floor and whisper in her ear. "If I don't get you out of that dress so I can ravish your body, I'm going to explode." She pulls away from me and looks me in the eyes and nods. I can tell she's thinking the same thing. We quickly say our goodbyes and practically sprint for the door. We get to the limo taking us to the little house we rented for the night, and see it covered in streamers, lacy underwear and condoms taped all over it. The back window reads 'Just Married' and there are actually cans tied to the back bumper. I open the back door for Rose to get in and she pulls me in behind her. As soon as the door is shut, she attacks me with kisses. I don't know if we're going to make it to the house, but right now I don't care. I have my Roza, my wife, with me and that's all that matters.

**I hope you liked it. Review and let me know.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Okay, sorry for the long wait between updates. This chapter is all fluff. It's their honeymoon so I figure it's supposed to be fluffy. Enjoy.**

**Vampire Academy series, not mine.**

**Rose POV**

The sudden shock of cold on my hot back causes me to twitch as my wonderful husband chuckles at my response. "I don't want your beautiful, smooth skin to burn on the first day of our honeymoon." Dimitri says as he slowly rubs sunblock on my back. He messages my muscles as he rubs in the lotion, making sure he gets under my bikini top strap and just under the top of the skimpy bottoms. I let out a moan as he moves down to lotion up my legs. He lingers at the top of my thighs, just below the fabric, squeezing and rubbing. Okay, if he doesn't stop this, I'm not going to be responsible for what I do to him in front of everyone else laying on the beach. "Roll over and I'll get your front." he says a little too seductively. I do as he commands and turn to lay on my back. I see the hungry look in his eye as he sees me in my little red string bikini.

"We're in public, comrade. Control yourself or they'll ask us to leave." I warn him with a smile. He squeezes a blob of sunblock on in his hands and starts spreading them together before putting his now lotioned hands on my stomach. I let out a moan as he rubs all over my torso and chest.

"I could say the same thing to you." he laughs as he finishes protecting my skin from the abuse of the sun. "My turn." he says as he hands me the bottle and removes his shirt. This is the best part of living in the sun, slathering up your very sexy husband. As soon as I'm done, we both sit back in out lounge chairs and relax, holding hands. It's so nice to be able to just be here with one another and not worry about Strigoi or training people or being interupted by annoying voices in your head. I put up my blocks so that I don't have Lissa talking to me while on our honeymoon. Of course, I put them down and check on her from time to time. Can't help it.

"So what do you think the Queen will have us do now that Adrian's back to his obnoxious self? Do you think I'll be assigned to a Moroi or will we continue hunting Strigoi?" I ask Dimitri. I hope we get to continue what we've been doing for the last six months or so. It's a lot easier to be together this way and we have all our friends with us too.

"I would imagine that we'll keep doing what we have been. We've eliminated a lot of very powerful Strigoi, a fact the Queen is aware of." he tells me. I hope he's right. I look over to him and smile. He sees me looking at him and he gives my hand a little squeeze. "Don't worry about it Roza. We will always be together. Not even the Queen herself can seperate us now." I love that he seems to always know what I'm thinking just by looking at me.

"Thanks, comrade. I love you."

"I love you too." We sit in silence, basking in the sun for a while longer. This is something we rarely get to do, so I enjoy ever minute of it. Of couse, I'm starting to get hot and sweaty. Dimitri must feel the same way, because he stands up from his chair, not letting go of my hand, and pulls me up with him. "Let's go cool off." he says as he leads me to the water. He surprises me next when he spins around and picks my up and throws me over his shoulder like a sack of potatos.

"What are you doing? Dimitri, don't you dare throw me into that water! Don't you dare..." I'm cut off from finishing my sentence when my head is submerged into the ice blue ocean. I came up gasping and spitting out the small amount of salty water that got into my mouth. I see Dimitri standing waist high in the water, laughing at me. Oh, he is going to pay for that! I walk up to him as fast as I could, considering I was in water, and try to tackle him down. I think he's helping me out because as he goes under, he grabs my waist and pulls me down along with him. We splash and play in the water for a while longer, having a great time. I love playful Dimitri.

The fun is called to an end when I realise how hungry I've become. "Your wife needs to eat, comrade." I tell him as I feel my stomach growl, begging for food. He walks over and picks me up bridal style and carries me out of the water back to our chairs to get our towels. I dry him off, enjoying every minute of it and he does the same to me, planting little kisses all over as he dries. I throw on my little cover up and sandles and we head back up to our room to dress for dinner. We're staying at a beautiful all inclusive resort in Cancun, Mexico. There are about five restaurants, many bars and two night clubs. There is also a huge pool that is more like a little river that goes along around the hotel. It's so cool. I think tomorrow we need to enjoy laying on rafts and floating along the water. We walk passed the pool and head to the elevator to take us up to our floor. The hotel is set up in a way that every room has an ocean view and a large jacuzzi tub. We'll definately have to come here again.

As we get in the elevator, I notice we're not alone. Standing to the side is a lovely old couple, holding hands and looking at us with amused smiles on their faces.

"You must be newlyweds." the woman guesses. I nod and show her my beautiful wedding ring. "Ah, young love. Being around it is good for the soul. That's why Bernie and I come to these resorts all the time." she says. I smile to her and give Dimitri's waist a squeeze.

"That, and having lots of grandchildren around. Kids are the fountain of youth." he says. My heart twinges at the thought that grandchildren aren't in our future.

"How long have you two been married?" I ask curiously, taking my mind off having kids.

"It will be forty-seven years next month for Lila and me." Bernie tells us looking lovingly at his wife.

"What is your secret for a happy marriage." Dimitri asks them, joining the conversation. Bernie pauses for a minute, thinking of his answer before looking Dimitri right in the eye with a serious look on his face.

"To keep your marriage brimming - with love in the marriage cup - whenever you're wrong admit it - Whenever you're right, shut up." he says pointing to Dimitri. I start laughing and look up at Dimitri who is smiling at me.

"Good advice, thank you." he tells Bernie. The doors open up and the cute couple walk out, hand in hand. I rest my head on Dimitri's chest as I watch them walk down the hall. He leans down and kisses the top of my head. "I can't wait until we are like them someday." he says as if he was reading my mind. I look up at him and smile. I reach up on my tippy toes and press my lips to his.

"Me too." The doors close behind them and we start moving again. We stand there, just holding each other. I imagine what it will be like for us in forty seven years. Will we both still be alive considering what we do for a living? That thought scares me. I guess we'll just have to cherish every second we have together since you never know what life is going to throw at you at any moment. I reach over and kiss my wonderful husband again, but linger. He responds and lifts me up so he doesn't have to bend down as much. We keep our lips locked together in a loving kiss, one that conveys all the love we have for each other. Even when the doors open at our floor, we don't break away. He simply keeps ahold of me and walks us both to our room. Apparently we have an audience because I can hear giggling coming from behind us. Oh well.

By the time we got to our room, the intensity of the kissing has picked up. He takes me over to the bed and lays me down gently. I pull him down with me, our lips never parting. I feel his hand run through my hair while the other caresses my side. He manages to untie my bikini top and drops it on the floor next to the bed. We take eveything slowly, taking the time to enjoy every inch of our bodies. We memorizing each other as if this was our first time being together. I can honestly say, this is one of the best moments we have had together. We aren't rushing anything or taking the other for granted. I love the way he seems to worship everything about me. "I love you so much Roza." he repeats over and over again as he kisses my lips and body. I whisper how much I love him just as much.

After the most wonderful afternoon spent together, we decide to get ready and go to dinner. I put on the cutest black dress with speghetti straps and and open back that hugs my curves and hangs loose to stop just above my knee. I leave my hair down just like Dimitri likes it and put just a touch of make up on. He looks sexy as ever in dark slacks and dark green button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He also leaves his hair down and I have to resist the urge to run my fingers through it, or else we'll never leave this room.

We walk out hand in hand to the little italian restaurant at the hotel that is reserved only for couples. The dining room is dimly lit and each table has a single candle burning in the middle. Very romantic. The hostess walks us over to our table, and I can't help but notice her eyeing Dimitri as does. He doesn't seem to notice as he pulls out my chair for me to sit down, never taking his eyes off me. I know he loves me so I decide I don't need to be jealous of her so I don't even give her a second thought. Is this what maturing is all about? He reaches out and holds my hand on top to the table. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" he asks making me blush. I can't believe he can still get that kind of reaction out of me when he looks at me like that.

"Thank you. You look pretty darn hot yourself." I return getting a small laugh from him. We order our food and Dimitri chooses some wine to drink. As a wedding gift, Lissa and Christian got me a fake ID so could drink since Lissa wouldn't be with me to compell the bartender. We sip our wine and I look around to the other couples enjoying their meal and my eyes rest on a familiar twosome, Bernie and Lila. I smile looking at them but my mind goes back to the fact that we will never have a house full of laughing kids running all over the place with Dimitri chasing after them playing. I don't feel bad for myself so much, but I hate that Dimitri won't be able to be the awesome dad he could be.

"Roza, what's wrong?" he asks, concern written all over his face. I don't want to ruin the wonderful moment by my petty thoughts, so I smile and shake the thoughts from my head.

"Nothing. I just don't want this vacation to end. I love being here with you all to myself." I tell him, which isn't a lie, just not exactly the truth. He knows me too well to believe me though.

"That's not all. What has you bothered?" he says squeezing my hand.

"I was just thinking about what Bernie said earlier about kids and I feel bad that you're giving up being a dad just to be with me." I tell him while trying hard to keep the tears from spilling out. He sighs and shakes his head.

"Oh Roza. Just because we won't be parents, doesn't mean we won't have children in our lives. We have many close friends who can and probably will have children of their own. We'll be the best Aunt and Uncle those kids will ever know. And the best part is, when we get tired of them, we get to give them back to their parents while we enjoy each other." he says with a big grin and a waggle of his eyebrows. I like the way he thinks. I laugh at his idea and nod my head in agreement to his plan.

"That sounds pretty good actually. Lissa and Christian will have some rugrats if he ever grows a pair and proposes to her. Then there's Mia and Peter, and Adrian and Daphne, even Jacob and Vikt..." I stop when I see Dimitri's eyes go wide at the thought of his baby sister and the obnoxious Moroi he doesn't particularly care for hooking up and having babies. "Well, you're right. There will be lots of kids surrounding us one day. Thanks, comrade. Once again, you make me feel better." I smile. Just then, the waiter brings out our food and we eat. Uh, it's so good, I can barely stop eating to take a breath. Dimitri chuckles at my eagerness to clean my plate.

When we finally finish, we leave the restaurant and head to one of the nightclubs to dance. It looks like a discotech with flashing lights and a mirrored ball hanging from the ceiling. The music is loud and the dance floor is packed with people having a good time. I pull Dimitri into the middle of the floor and start dancing with him. We never leave each others side for most of the night until nature calls. I excuse myself while he goes to the bar and orders us a drink. I go into the restroom and find an empty stall. While there, I listen to two girls talking about the guys in the club.

"Did you see that one hot guy with the green shirt? The one who's really tall with brown hair?" one asks. She better not be talking about my man.

"Oh I know. He's been dancing with that one girl all night. She should give someone else a chance." the other says. Yeah, like that will ever happen. "Let's go see if he's managed to get away from her yet." I hear the door opening and shutting. The room is now quiet so I know they left looking for Dimitri. This should be intersting. I leave the restroom when I'm finished and go to the bar to find my husband. Just as I thought, I see two girls hanging around him, trying to get his attention. It's not working. I make eye contact with him and he smiles. As I'm walking toward him, some guy grabs my arm, stopping me, and leans in so close I can smell the booze on his breath. It reminds me of Adrian.

"How about you and I have a dance and get to know each other better?" he asks. I don't want to hurt anybody and ruin such a wonderful day, so I simply pull my arm out of his grip and politly refuse his offer.

"No thank you. I here with someone." I start to walk away when he quickly walks in front of me, blocking my path.

"Yeah, me." he says. "Now lets have that dance." He tries to hold my hand but I pull it away and move to walk around him. Dimitri is suddenly right in front of me with a murderous look on his face. When the guy turns around to stop me again, he sees Dimitri and pales. I have my arms around Dimitri's waist now and glare at him. He looks at the both of us and decides it's probably better to leave me alone and find some other girl to harrass. We go back to the bar and finish the drinks he ordered. The girls must have seen the scene and moved on. I guess they're smarter than they sounded.

The club is starting to get pretty hot with all these people dancing in here, so we decide to leave. Dimitri takes my hand and leads me down the stairs that end at the beach. I take off my heels and we walk hand in hand under a full moon. This is the epitome of romance and I couldn't be happier sharing this moment with anybody else. We don't need to say anything, just enjoy each other's company. His moves his hand so he is now holding onto my waist and I do the same. I rest my head on his chest as we walk along the moonlit beach. Nothing could be more perfect.

Whoever runs the universe must have a sense of humor, because at that perfect moment I'm sharing with the most wonderful husband a girl could ask for, I get that all too familiar nauseous feeling. Stirgoi. I pull out of our embrace and look up to the sky, furious.

"You've got to be freakin' kidding me!" I yell to the cosmos.

**Poor Rose and Dimitri just can't get a break. Review and let me know what you want to happen to our favorite couple. Or what other couple you would like to know more about. Review!**

**Oh, and Bernie's quote is credited to Nash. So thank you Nash, whoever you are.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Okay, I know you're all dying to know what's going to happen to Rose and Dimitri on the beach with Strigoi about, but that'll have to wait. I want to visit the others to see what they're up to. This is a fluffy chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**I don't own Vampire Academy and never said I did.**

**Christian POV**

Rose and Dimitri left for their honeymoon the other day, and the rest of us came back to America and the Royal Court. The guardians are all over in the guardian quarters and the Moroi are in the apartments. I'm sure Rose will throw a fit and get us all back together again when she returns.

"Hey Eddie. I need to talk to you." I say as I knock on his door. The door opens up and Eddie stands back so I can enter.

"What's up, man?" he asks as he follows me to the couch in his room. All the guys are there, hanging out since all the girls are out on a shopping trip. I sit next Alex, whose playing some video game with Jacob.

"Well, I need some advice. I want to ask Lissa to marry me, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I want it to be special and memorable. Any ideas?" I ask them all. They all go silent and just stare at me. A grin slowly crosses Jacob's face as he looks at me.

"You old dog. Finally gonna let her officially slap the ball and chain on ya, huh?" he smirks. Why am I talking to him? I just glare at him for a moment, then turn to look at Eddie. He's known Lissa for quite a while and would know more than the others what she would like. Unfortunately, the look on his face tells me he isn't going to be much help.

"Umm, maybe you could take her to a baseball game and have the announcer ask her for you. Or have it written on the billboard they have. All girls like to see their name in lights. You could even put the ring in her bag of popcorn." he suggests.

"Yeah, and then you can do the heimlich manuever on her when she starts choking on the ring." Jacob interjects. That would not be good. Okay, no putting the ring in anything edible.

"Why don't you take her to a romantic dinner and propose right before they bring the dessert?" Peter adds. I thought about that, but that's too boring, though Lissa would love it.

"That's been done to death. What else you got?" I ask. Alex looks thoughtful and then offers his opinion.

"Why don't you take her on a picnic in the royal gardens. It's really nice there. Rose Ann and I went for a walk around there the other day, and she fell in love with the place. There's this really nice fountain surrounded by rose bushes. You cound have her sit there and propose. It's the perfect setting." That actually sounds pretty good and I'm sure Lissa would absolutely love it.

"I like that. Maybe I can have some nice music playing and floating candles in the fountain." is say as I imagine the whole scene. Lissa sitting on the edge on th fountain, music softly playing in the background, candlelight illuminating the area with me on one knee presenting the ring to her and asking her to marry me. Of course she says yes and we kiss and cuddle on the blanket under the stars. Yep, I love this idea. I smile at Alex and nod. "Okay, that sounds good, but you can't tell the girls because I want this to be a surprise." I warn them. They all agree and now I have to start planning. First thing to get now is the ring. I don't want to go to the jeweler here at court in case someone sees me and mentions this to Lissa. I'll have to go to the mall in town. The only problem is that Rose Ann is my guardian and I don't want her to spill the beans.

"Hey, can you guys come with me to get the ring? I can't get out without a guardian with me, because you know how helpless I am." I say, sarcasm dripping off every word. Of course, it would just be my luck that the first time I try to go out alone, a pack of Strigoi would find me.

"Sure, we could come. It's not like we have anything better to do." Eddie says. We all pile into an SUV and head out to go ring shopping. We get there and head right to the store we came for. We're not like the women, having to go into every single store to look around. We men like to go in, get what we came for, and leave. Nice and simple.

We walk in and the saleperson pounces as soon as we cross the threshold. He points us in the direction of the engagement rings. There is a big selection, which really doesn't make it any easier on me since I have no idea what I'm doing. I look over the selection and one catches my eye. It's a solitaire, princess cut diamond on a platinum setting. It's simple but breathtaking, just like Lissa. The salesman takes it out so I can look at it more closely. He hands me this little magnifying thing so I can inspect the stone. I look at it more thoroughly. Mind you, I have no clue what I'm looking for, but apparently Peter does. He takes the ring and the doo-hickey and looks it over. He hands it back the guy.

"It looks great. Excellant stone, Christian." Peter says.

"Do you know the ring size of the lucky young lady?" Huh? I have no idea. It never occured to me to have that sort of information.

"Well, I know she wears a size seven shoe. Does that help?" The salesman looks at me like I lost my mind. I look over to Peter for some help.

"She has very slender fingers, so I'm guessing about a five, five and a half? You can always come back with her after you propose and have it sized to fit her." he says. That sounds good. I buy the ring and we leave. See how easy that is? In and out.

I plan on asking her in two days time, when the moon will be full. The guys are helping me get everything together like the candles and food. Peter and Jacob get everything set up and Jacob lights the little candles floating in the water. The blanket and food are waiting for us. I tell Lissa that after everything we've been through, I want to treat her to something special. Hopefully she doesn't suspect what's coming.

She dresses up in a gordeous light pink satin dress that looks amazing on her. It sets off the blush in her cheeks perfectly. Her hair is down and staightened with what looks like a diamond studded headband that almost looks like a tiara. I can't help but just stare at her, she looks so beautiful.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asks as I lead her down the hallway on our way to our romantic dinner.

"You'll see soon enough." I tell her with my mischievious grin. She rolls her eyes, but says nothing as I lead the way. We walk hand in hand to the garden and enjoy the scenery all around us. The flowers' scent fills the air with perfume and the stars and moon are shining brightly. This is going to be perfect. I'm so excited. I just hope she says yes.

When we finally reach our destination, I hear Lissa gasp next to me as she takes in the sight. All the candles in the the fountain look terrific. I definitely need to thank Jacob for that. I take her over to the blanket with the basket of food and help her sit down. I open the basket and pull out the two champaign glassses and the bottle and pour us each a glass.

"Christian, I can't believe you went to all this trouble. It's so nice." she gushes.

"Anything for you, my princess." Yeah, I can be a charmer. We sip on the champaign and gaze into each others eyes. I lean over and gently kiss her lips. Now for the food. I reach in the basket and pull out the plates of strawberries and cream and set it on the blanket in front of us. These are Lissa's favorite. I pick up a rather large berry and dip it into the cream and go to feed it to her, when she let's out a small scream. I drop the strawberry and start looking around wondering what scared her. "What's wrong?" I ask. She starts looking down at the blanket in front of her and quickly gets up and moves away.

"There are ants all over the place. The cream is covered in them." I look down and sure enough, there are thousands of the little buggers scurrying all over the strawberries and swimming in the cream. I look in the basket to find even more. I lift up the basket and blanket and find that we are sitting on top of a big ant hill. Of all the places to lay the blanket, it had to be here. Lissa moves to sit by the fountain while I try to shake out the blanket and rid it of the pesky insects. Hopefully, everything from here on out will go smoothly.

"Sorry about that." I say as I wrap my arms around her. She does the same and nestles her face into my neck.

"It's okay. I know you meant well." She's so understanding. I pull away and put one finger up to tell her to wait a second as I walk over to the radio and turn it on. The music starts playing a nice slow song and we start dancing. It is so nice and romantic, dancing under the stars. I look at Lissa, who reminds me of an angel. I lean down and press her sweet lips to mine. I can't believe how lucky I am, having someone as wonderful as her love me. The song ends and we continue swaying with each as wait for the next song to start, but what comes through the speakers isn't a song. It's the recording we did a couple months ago of Rose singing 'SexyBack' in the shower. It was hilarious at the time, but this was not the time for that. Lissa starts laughing as I run to the radio to turn it off. Great, what else is going to go wrong?

Maybe I should get to the main event and propose already. I turn to walk back over to my princess, when I see her swatting at the air. What is she doing? I get closer and notice that there is a humongous bee flying all around her. It must be attracted to her perfume. I try to help get it to leave, but I just seems to anger it. She's starting to wimper and panic as the darn thing gets more aggresive. I'm not letting this little fucker ruin this romantic night, damn it!

"Lissa, stay still and when I tell you to, duck. I'm going to flambay the critter." I tell her as I follow it's every move. I see it fly above her head, so I yell 'duck' and she hits the deck. I release a stream of fire and get a direct hit. The sucker is toast! I jump up and down at my victory, only to notice that in the process of lighting the bee on fire, I also set a rose bush up in flames. We both race around looking for something to put the fire out, when Lissa grabs the bottle of champaign and pours it over the bush. Did you know alcohol is flamable? Yeah, it didn't work. I eventually find a hose and turn it on and douse the roses, rendering the fire dead.

I fall back and sit on the ground with a thud. I can't believe this is happening. I look over to Lissa who looks shocked. She moves her gaze to me and burst out laughing. I join her, laughing my head off, knowing how important this night is and how nothing has gone right. If I don't laugh, I might start crying. "Oh my goodness, Christian. I'm sorry this night isn't turning out the way you planned." she sympathizes.

"How do you know I didn't plan it like this?" I tease. She walks over to me and helps me up off the grass.

"Well, if this is how you wanted the evening to go, congratulations, you're a success. I might have a few suggestions for the next romantic dinner you plan, though." she giggles. God, I love this woman. Okay, it's now or never, Christian. I lead her over the the edge of the fountain and we sit down. I put one arm around her shoulders as I reach into my jacket pocket to get the ring. I hold it behind my back and prepare myself for popping the question.

"Lissa, I just want you to know that I love you so much. I would do anything to keep you safe and happy." I'm getting nervous as I talk to her and my whole body is getting sweaty. "I have a question for you.." Oh crap! I just dropped the ring into the water. Now what do I do? "I, uh, hold on." I stall as I turn around and start looking in the water for the ring. Lissa is looking at me confused at to what I'm doing. It's hard to find the ring among the coins at the bottom and candles floating all around.

"Christian, what are you doing?" she asks, a little annoyed at my behavior. I can't tell her the truth, cause that will ruin the surprise, but I'm kinda at a loss for an explanation. I take off my jacket and roll up my sleeves so I can try to feel around for it. "Christian?"

"I dropped something, just a sec." I tell her. She gets up starts to walk away, only to trip on my jacket I threw on the ground. She falls into me, which knocks me into the water, with her following. The fountain isn't very deep, but it's enought to get us both completely soaked. Lissa is sitting in the cold water, mascara running down her face, hair wet and sticking to her skin, looking pissed. I dive down, still looking for the ring because, let's face it, nothing I do from here on out will save this night. My hands are running along the bottom frantically, until I hit something small and circular. I grab it and pull it up to see that it is indeed the ring. I jump up holding the ring high above my head. "I found it!" I scream, jumping up and down in the water, happy I don't have to buy another one. Lissa is looking at me confused again. She looks so cute sitting in the water, teeth chattering. I kneel down in front of her and take her hand in mine.

"I know this is probably not how you imagined this night would go, but I just can't wait another second without asking you this." I show her the diamond ring and her eyes go wide. "Lissa, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?" My heart beats faster and I hold my breath, waiting for her answer. She looks stunned. Her eyes focus on me, and then the ring and back to me. I'm getting scared she's going to say no, by the way the rest of the evening went, but when I see that radiant smile spread across her face, I know good things are coming.

"Yes Christian. I'll marry you." she tells me. I stand up and pick her up and swing her around the fountain. She squeels in my arms, happy as can be. I stop, put her down, and take her left hand in mine. I slip the ring onto her finger and find that it's a perfect fit. At least that went well. I help her out of the water and place my jacket over her shoulders, trying to warm her up. We walk back to the rooms so we can change into dry clothes. "I know the evening didn't go as planned, at least I hope that isn't what you planned." I chuckle. "But I wouldn't change a thing." she tells me. I stop her and gently kiss her lips. She so amazing. I feel her shiver, so we continue on her way.

After we change into dry clothes, she finds the girls and shows them the ring and retails the story, happy as can be. The guys all congratulate me and I wonder if this night is any indication of how our marriage will go. This should be interesting.

**A big thanks to MaxieMoose for the idea. Let me know which couple you would like me to write about next. Thanks for reading and please review.**


	33. Chapter 33

**I know, I know, it's been forever since I updated. I got caught up in He Comes First. Now that that story is finished, I'l finish this one. Since it's been so long since I updated, you all probably forgot what the story was about and what happened last, so here's a brief synopsis.**

**Adrian and Daphne are no longer Strigoi, Rose and Dimitri were on their honeymoom when Strigoi showed up and Christian proposed to Lissa, who accepted. Now for the conclusion.**

**I don't own Vampire Academy and probably never will.**

**Rose POV - in the near future**

"I'm so excited for her. Aren't you excited?" I ask Dimitri as we get dressed for the graduation ceremony at St Vlads. I look over to my very sexy husband and see the long scars on the side of his torso that he got from a Strigoi fight on our honeymoon. Damn monsters thought they could ruin my romantic moment strolling on the beach with my new husband. Well, they quickly learned not to mess with the Belikov's when they're on vacation. Unfortunately, it was a lesson they'll never have a chance to utilize since we killed them all. One of the Strigoi Dimitri was fighting made the mistake of clawing him in front of me. Yeah, he didn't last long on this earth after that.

"Yes, I'm excited. She's worked very hard to get to this point. I'm very proud of her." he tells me. We just finish getting dressed when there's a knock on the door. We're staying at the guest quarters at the academy to see our girl graduate and get her promise mark. I walk over and answer the door to see my favorite newlyweds standing there.

"Hey Little Dhampir, how's it feel to back here?" Adrian asks while holding Daphne's hand as they walk into our room. They just got married about six months ago in a big ceremony at Court. He is the Queen's nephew after all. Everything was way over the top if you ask me, but nobody did. Daphne was so beautiful in a very frilly, very expensive white dress with a train a mile long. I was honored to be her maid of honor with Lissa, Rose Ann, Mia and Katie as her bridesmaids. Peter was Adrian's best man since they've gotten to be great friends through practicing Spririt together.

"It's crazy. Walking down the halls I have the weird feeling like I'm running late for class." I laugh.

"Maybe because you always were." Dimitri adds walking up to us. I turn and give him a dirty look.

"No one asked you." I tell him. Just then, Lissa and Christian walk through the door that I didn't shut.

"Man, this place hasn't changed a bit." Christian says as he greets us. Lissa walks over and hugs everyone. Lissa and Christian got married about a year after Dimitri and I. It was a very traditional and classic wedding. Everything Lissa has dreamed it would be since she was twelve. Of course, I had to make the sure the bachorlette party was classic too. You know, male strippers and lots of booze. It was great. You know it was a good party when most of the guests can't even remember what happened the following morning. Thankfully, Peter made sure he was available to heal those of us who were pretty plastered so we could get throught the ceremony. A pissed Lissa on her wedding day was not something I wanted to experience.

"Alright, Are we ready to go? I'll call the others and have them meet us downstairs." I pick up my phone and call Alex and Rose Ann's room and then Eddie and Katie to have them meet us. Both couples are going strong and still working with us breaking up Strigoi cells throughout the world. It's really the only way we Dhampir couples can stay together without compromising our charges. Just as I'm about to call Jacob, he walks in the room like he owns the place.

"Let's go see all the fresh meat graduating and entering the free world. I'm sure I can find some good looking graduate to unwrap my gift." he says looking down at his pants. Still as much of a pig as ever. He and Viktoria didn't last very long, much to Dimitri's excitement. Now he just dates random women he encounters at bars and charms with his heroic tales of fighting Strigoi. I must admit it works pretty well for him.

"Jacob, you're such a lecherous ass." I remind him as we all start heading out the door. We see the others waiting for us and we all walk over to the gym wear the ceremony will be held.

"Where's Peter?" Alex asks as we walk.

"He's already there saving us seats." Christian tells us. We get there and there are lots of people standing around talking amongst themselves. I crane my neck looking for our friend but there are too many people in my way. Thankfully, my husband is exceptionally tall and finds Peter fairly quickly.

"He's over there, in the front." he points. I push my way through the crowd until I get to my destination. I give Peter a hug and take one of the available seats.

"How's Mia doing?" I ask. He beams at me when I mention her name. Peter finally popped the question and they eloped only taking Katie and Eddie with them. I was a little upset I didn't get to come, but I was busy helping Lissa with her wedding plans. They're pretty private but they let us throw them a party when they got back.

"She great. She's.." Kirova interrupts whatever Peter was going to say when she announces that they were getting started and for everyone to take their seats. We all did as asked. I'm so excited to see her get her promise mark, I can't sit still. Dimitri has to literally put his hand on my leg and hold it down to stop my foot from tapping like a jackhammer.

"Calm down Roza. You'd think you were the one becoming a guardian." he whispers in my ear. I can't help it. Kirova and Alberta get on stage and start with their speeches which I barely register as I think back to all the combat lessons and trainings we went through with her and how proud I am of her for getting this far. They're starting to announce the names and I notice I'm holding my breath waiting for her name to be called. Finally, she's next.

"Mia Badica." Alberta calls as our whole group jumps up and starts screaming and hollaring for our girl. Mia is the first Moi to become and sanctioned guardian. She sees us and waves with the biggest smile on her face. After we left Russia, Mia enrolled at St Vlads to be a guardian. It took a lot of convincing on our part for Kirova to accept her. But after Mia demonstrated what she already knew by sparring with me, she was enrolled. Now, two years later, she finished what she started and is making history. I wipe away the tear I feel rolling down my cheek as I remember how hard she's worked to get here.

After it's over, we find her in the crowd and practically knock her down in a group hug. "May I congratulate my wife." Peter asks as he pulls Mia away from the rest of us and gives her a proper, passion filled kiss that makes me blush a little. Damn, Peter. You've come a long way from that shy kid I met a few years ago. I'm impressed.

We decide to take Mia out to celebrate at a nice restaurant for dinner and drinks. "So I assume that you'll request for Mia to be your guardian now since she's your wife after all." Katie asks Peter. Katie is officially his guardian, but with our group, we all just watch after each other.

"Yes, I've already done that. And, we also have some other news to share with you all." Peter says to us then looks over to Mia to finish telling us the news.

"Well, Kirova asked us if both Peter and I would like to stay at St Vlads. Peter would teach Spirit in the new program they've started. St. Vlads will be the premier academy for Spirit users since it's still not an element many have. I will be a school guardian and help teach Moroi in the new offensive magic program. I'll be teaching Moroi in hand to hand combat." The entire table is quiet for a few moments while we digest this news.

"That's wonderful." Lissa exclaims, the first to speak up. We all give them our best wishes but I feel a little bad because I know how much I'm going to miss them. Even with Mia training at school, Peter would come with us on our raids to help heal anyone who was injured. We still have Lissa and Adrian though. After we all eat, I feel Lissa getting overly excited and nervous through the bond all of a sudden.

"What's up Lissa?" I ask. She can't hide anything from me. She gives me a big smile and looks over to Christian.

"Well, we have some news also. Christian and I are going to have a baby in about six months. I'm pregnant!" she squeels. Holy cow! I jump up and grab Lissa tight, I'm so excited.

"I'm going to be an Auntie." I exclaim. I so plan on spoiling this baby. It's the first of our group so of course it's going to be smothered in love. Everyone congratulates the happy couple as I lean against Dimitri, happy to see my friends so happy.

In the years to come, our original group of eleven grew to eighteen. Lissa and Christian have three boys and a girl. Adrian and Daphne have one of each and Mia and Peter have a little boy. Adrian and Daphne offered to help Dimitri and I have a baby by donating Adrian's sperm. Of course, Adrian offered to deliver his seed the old fashioned way, which pissed Dimitri off. We discussed it, but decided that our role exterminating the world of Strigoi was more important and that having children would hamper that greatly. Plus, if I have a baby, I'd want Dimtri's genes to live on in our child. So we just love on every else's kids until we've had enough and give them back to their parents. It works out great. Whenever we go on assignments, the couple with the kids will leave one to care for the family. It works out well, especially since the number of Strigoi cells has decreased greatly over the years. We don't have to go on raids very often anymore. The Moroi and Dhampis populations are on the rise, thanks to the work we do. Something that we are all proud to have had a hand in.

**The End**

**Short chapter, I know, but I think it wraps up pretty well. Thank you for reading this story and leaving such wonderful reviews.**


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